All Good Things
by Kyizi
Summary: Harry and Ginny, a secret romance and a final battle...must all good things come to an end?
1. Part 1: Nightmares

All Good Things

Part 1: Nightmares  
**By Kyizi**

Disclaimer: These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling and, no doubt, a few other people as well J I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story.

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Rating: PG-13 for innuendo.

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Pairing: Harry/Ginny J 

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Distribution: Wherever it's wanted. Just please let me know so I can pay a little visit.

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Spoilers: All four books will, no doubt come into this at some point.

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Feedback: is a precious gift. It's nice to give J 

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E-mail: kyizi@hotmail.com

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Notes: Okay, my Ginny muse got mad when she found out that she wouldn't be allowed to pounce Harry for a while in my other fic, so she made me write this one!

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Ginny scrunched up her nose and frowned. It wasn't working. Scratching her cheek, she began again. It still wasn't working. Grunting in frustration, she threw down her quill and leaned back in her chair, stretching her neck. Deciding to finally call it a night, she placed her arithmancy homework in her drawer and waved her hand, turning off the light. She'd been doing that ever since her birthday, doing magic without her wand, ever since she'd been allowed to do magic out of school. It seemed to come naturally, the wand only there to hekp her focus when required. Of course, she'd never let her family know that. No, she was still poor, sweet, innocent, little Ginny.

Flopping angrily onto her bed, she rubbed at her eyes and snuggled deeper into her brother's shirt. She missed them. All of them. Sure, the twins came home every weekend when they could. Between running their joke shop and working with the Ministry, creating things to helpl with the war, they had very little time to spare. Only Percy, Ron and herself lived at home now, and Percy spent most of his time at the Ministry, while Ron had practically moved in with Hermione.

She had to smile when she thought of that. Poor, clueless Ron. It had taken him quite by surprise to discover that he'd fallen in love with his friend, despite the fact that more than half the wizarding world had cottened on to the fact. When he'd finally kissed her, in front of the entire school, at their graduation, he'd been as shocked as her. Now they were practically inseperable, arguments and all. She only wished that everything could be that simple. With the war going the ay it was, they would win soon, but that didn't make things any less dangerous. 

Shuddering at the thought, she wished once more that she could see _*all*_ her brothers and know for certain that they were safe and sound. No one had heard from Bill and Charlie for over three months now, and, despite Harry's reassurances that they were fine, she wouldn't be happy until she was getting teased by Charlie for stealing his good shirt and a hug from Bill. She may be eighteen now, but she was never too old for a hug from Bill. It made everything okay with the world. 

Punching her pillow, she turned over onto her stomach and attempted to clear her thoughts, but one remained. He-who…no, she admonished herself, Voldermort. I can speak the name of the man who killed me. She felt an icy chill run down her spine as she remembered that day. A shadow gripped at her throat and she almost gagged aloud, before shaking off the feeling. It had been the worst year of the war so far. For both sides. Hogwarts had finally been breached and many people had dies, students, teachers, deatheaters, and…Voldemort, himself. 

The war should have ended that day. If only. They had all stormed the castle, the spells protecting the school finally broken. They had been ruthlss, killing over fifty students, three teachers and, if it hadn't been for Professor Snape, Hagrid as well. 

Ginny recalled that evening with painful clarity. Being trapped in the corner of the main hall, a group of first years cowering behind her. He-who…Voldemort had dissarmed them easily and Ginny had refused to close her eyes, preparing to die, but not without as much dignity as she could muster. But it hadn't happened, not yet. She had, once again, been saved by Harry Potter. 

The battle had been mesmerising, a sight so awful and wonderful to behold. The sheer intensity of it drawing tears to her eyes as she watched Harry fighting for his life. If it hadn't been for her, perhaps he wouldd have beaten He…Voldemort with a lot more ease…at the very least, with a lot less pain and heartache to himself. 

"Accio!" It was the most distressing feeling she had ever experienced, it felt different when applied by a dark wizard, almost as if she had been pierced in the gut with a muggle fishing hook and reeled in at 100 miles an hour. H-Voldemort had her by the throat before she could so much as gasp. And that had been when she saw it. The sight that scared her more than Voldemort ever could. Hary was afraid. He was afraid, and that meant he couldn't save her. She knew he'd try, but his fear told her he knew he may not succeed. 

"Avada Kedavra!"

Ginny woke screaming, like she had every night the nightmares had plagued her. She wasn't even aware when her day dreaming had slipped into sleep.Breathing deeply to calm herself, she wiped her brow, listening as the stairs and the floorboards in the hall creaked with movement. She soon heard whispered voices as her mother and Harry debated who should enter.

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*Please be Harry, please be Harry, please be Harry* she silently prayed, not sure if she could handle her mother in the sleep starved state her mind had taken residence in. Breathing a sigh of relief as she heard her mother's door closing, Ginny sat up and waited for the door to open.

"Gin?" There was a crack of light slivering through the room causing Harry's shadow to spread across the bottom of her bed. "Can I come in?" he asked softly.

" 'Course," she whispered, scooting over to let him sit beside her. She allowed him to pull her into his arms and leaned her head on his shoulder as he gripped her tightly.

"What was it this time?" he asked, ently kissing her forehead. 

She snuggled closer to him, pulling herself onto his lap and sighed, "Same again. Highlights from the Chamber of Secrets, last year…the curse…" He pulled her still tighter against him, and she didn't complain, feeling safe and secure in his arms, listening to the beat of his heartin his chest and the breath moving through him.

"I'm so sorry." It was barely audible, but she felt him speak.

"For what? For saving my life?"

"For getting you into the situation in the first place."

"Harry, stop it. If anyone's to blame, it's me." Her tears ran freely as she continued, "If you hadn't felt you had to save me, you could have saved Sirius, or Neville, or Colin, or Proffessor Dumbledore, or…"

"Stop it." His voice was soft but his words were strong. He pulled her face up to meet his, leaning his forehead against hers and wiping away her tears. "If I could do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. I wouldn't give you up for the world."

"But if you hadn't spent so long with those spells…and…if you hadn't tried to save me, to bring me back, then…then you could have…you could have stopped Malfoy's father from killing Sirius and…"

"And I wouldn't have you." Staring at her in the dull moonlight, she saw that their were tears in his eyes as well. She reached for his cheek, attempting to wipe away her tears, only to have him catch her wrist and turn it over, gently placing a kiss in her palm, causing a shiver to run through her. A moment later he had pulled her flush against him, kissing her with so much passion, that she was left in no doubt as to why he had saved her. He loved her. He may never have said it, but neither had she. But they noth knew. 

After a few minutes, Harry pulled away, illiciting a small groan of complaint from her, "Ginny, what if your mum comes in?"

"Then she'll die of shock, my brothers would kill you and I'd be branded a scarlet woman, now shut up and kiss me." Harry chuckled and complied. After a moment, he pulled back again and could barely contain his smile at her growl.

"To hell with my mum, Harry. She's probebly asleep by…"

"It's not your mum, Gin. If we don't stop now, I may not be able to." Her eyes widened as she realised what he meant. She stared into his eyes and he made a move to stand, "I should…" She placed her fingers to his mouth before replacing it with her lips.

"Gin…"

"What if I don't want you to stop?" she murmured against his mouth.

He groaned, "The I'd say you chose the worst place in the world to tell me." He pulled her to him and kissed her hungrily until there was a noise in the hall. They jumped apart as if they'd been stung and Harry quickly sat in her desk chair at the side of her bed, his back to the door. Ginny attempted to flatten her hair, snickering softly as she spotted Harry's predicament. Giggling, she threw her stuffed rabbit at him and he caught it, promptly placing it in his lap as the door creaked open.

"Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley walked slowly to her daughter's bed and sat down. "Are you all right, dear?"

"I'm okay, mum." She replied snuggling under the covers, "I…I was a little shaken up, but it's okay."

"No, Ginny, it's not okay. If Harry hadn't done what he did…" her voice broke off and Ginny sat up to hug her mum. 

"I'm still here, and I'm not planning on dueling with any death eaters in the near future."

"Or ever." She heard Harry mutter and, forgetting that he couldn't see her in the darkness, she glowered at him. 

"Well then," Mrs. Weasley collected herself, "I'm off to bed." She wiped her eyes and hugged Ginny one last time before heading to the door. "You'd best get some sleep. Both of you."

"I'll head down stairs in a minute." Harry said and she nodded before leaving the room, the door clicking gently behind her.

Ginny chuckled, "If she had any idea, you wouldn't be allowed anywhere near my room."

Harry laughed, sitting back on the bed, "If she had any idea, I wouldn't be allowed anywhere near _you_, let alone your room."

"Ah, remind me again why no one knows."

"Because I want to live?" Harry tickled her and laughed as she bit back a squeal.

"Harry Potter, you do that again and you will regret it."

He smiled and kissed the end of her nose, "Well, the last thing I want is to incur the wrath of Hurricane Ginny, so I guess I'll head back down to my room."

"Hurricane Ginny?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah." Kissing her one last time, hem oved to the door. 

"Harry, I…never mind." He turned as she lay back down.

"Gin, I'm fed up sneaking around as well." Shocked, as ever, at his perceptiveness, Ginnny sat up again and Harry walked back to her, sitting down and taking her hands. 

"It was fun at Hogwarts,"

She snickered, "Yeah, I'll never look at secret pasages and store cupboards the same way again."

He smirked, "Neither will Nearly Headless Nick."

"Don't remind me!" she groaned and leaned forward, dropping her head onto his shoulder. He laughed and kissed her hair before she looked up at him again. "It'll be strange not having you at Hogwarts this year." At his look, she frowned, "Harry?"

"Hmm?" He hid his grin.

"Have you decided what you're doing this year?"

"I'm going to be a man of leisure according to the Daily Prophet."

"I don't believe you for a second, you'd go mad." Smiling, he tapped her nose and kissed her before heading to the door. "You're up to something." 

He smirked and turned to face her and, ignoring her, he spoke, "We'll tell them tomorrow."

She grinned and repeated, "Tomorrow." He shut the door and she lay back, listening to his progress down the stairs. He was up to something, she knew it. He may be able to fool their friends and family, but not her, she knew him too well.

Sighing, she rolled over and smiled. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she could tell the world that she was in love with Haryy Potter. The only difference was, that this time, he'd be saying the same thing about her, too.

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END PART 1

Part 2 will probably be a prologue of sorts, it'll jump back to when it all began and explain how they got together, why they didn't tell anyone, what exactly happened when Voldemort and the Death Eaters managed to get into Hogwarts etc.

Please, let me know if you liked! J 

Oh, and Hurricane Ginny is the name of Chapter 3 of my other fic, Harry Potter and the Eye of Tae Nan, but I had to mention it!…okay, so I've only posted Part 1, so far! But I thought I'd tell you all about it anyway! ;)


	2. Part 2: In the Beginning

**_All Good Things_**

**_Part 2: In The Beginning_**

**_By Kyizi_**

_This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last year._

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**_Disclaimer: _**_These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling and, no doubt, a few other people as well ;) I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story._

**_Rating: _**_PG-13 for innuendo._

**_Pairing: _**_Harry/Ginny ;)_

**_Distribution: _**_Wherever it's wanted. Just please let me know so I can pay a little visit._

**_Spoilers: _**_All four books will, no doubt come into this at some point._

**_Feedback: _**_is a precious gift. It's nice to give ;) _

**_E-mail:_**_ kyizi@hotmail.com_

**_Notes: _**_Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this one! This is sort of a prologue, but just to clarify, I will be picking back up from part 1 again. A friend thought that was the end, and I was only going to tell the past from now on! Just to clarify :)_

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Ginny ran her fingers through her hair and smiled again at the words before her. The gentle scrawl of her own penmanship was comforting to her, regardless of whether or not the words were hers. She had taken a liking to Muggle poetry recently, for no reason other than its beauty. At times it was confusing, sometimes simplistic but always with feeling. She had yet to find a poet, good or bad that had no feeling and she hoped she never would. It had started as a hobby, something to do when her friends were out riding their broomsticks.

Ginny hated to fly now. Just the idea of leaving the ground made her feel ill. Ever since she had watched Harry fly through the dragon's wrath in the Triwizard Tournament, she hadn't been able to fly. She didn't know how Harry did it. She didn't know how he'd been able to get back on that broom. He amazed her, in more ways than one. After the Tournament he had closed himself off, making sure that any contact with people was brief, it wasn't until she had blown up at him in front of the entire common room that things had started to get better. In fact, things were more than better, they were almost great. It still amazed her. It had amazed everyone present, especially Harry. He'd never really known her and she'd just yelled at him in front of everyone. After a few awkward conversations, things had started to progress and now? Well, now Harry was a friend. It was as simple as that. He talked to her, she listened, she talked to him and he listened. There was nothing more to it than that. They knew each other's moods, they knew when to push and when to back off. And, there was nothing more to in than that. He knew more about her than anyone else ever had and she suspected the same was true in reverse. But there was nothing more to it than that. And it really annoyed her! The entire wizarding world seemed to know how she felt about the dope, but he remained oblivious. 

She sighed, she was glad that she and Harry were on such good friends and she wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. Especially not on the slim chance that he might reciprocate those feelings. Ginny glanced again at the words scattering the page and she couldn't help the blush that warmed her cheeks. If her brothers ever found this book, she'd die, all the protective charms in the world be damned. She knew they'd likely never find the true words, only the magical scribbles that she placed over them, but she would still die of embarrassment. She smiled to herself, and continued to write. 

Feeling her skin prickle, she had the strangest sensation that someone was watching her. Carefully, keeping up the appearance that she was still engrossed in her notebook, she cast quick glances around the room, startled when her eyes locked with a pair of green ones. It took him a few moments to register that she was staring back at him, but she couldn't help the giggle that escaped when Harry's face acquired a wide-eyed blush as he quickly turned away. He'd been staring at her a lot recently, and the Ginny of old would have taken it to heart and started to run about giggling insanely that Harry Potter was falling in love with her. The new Ginny, however, was slightly more grown up…she leave the running about giggling till after he'd asked her out. No, they were friends and that was how it was going to stay. Regardless of how much she wished otherwise.

Nodding her head in resignation, she turned back to her book, the words flowing from her memory as she began to scroll the words of love that some famous Muggle had conjured within his wonderful mind. It amazed her how so much feeling and emphasis could be placed on words. There was nothing profound in them, not to Ginny, to her it was the passion behind them. The words she so often found herself writing meant nothing to her until she imagined what they would mean if the man she loved were whispering them to her, murmuring words of a love so profoundly deep that her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to breath. That was the way it was meant to be. And that was yet another reason she found to leave Harry alone. What if she got him and then it turned out so different? What if love was nothing like this? 

"Hey," Ginny jumped up in her chair, her book tumbling clumsily from her hands as she bit back a scream. She glared at Harry as he laughed and picked up her book. "Sorry, Ginny," he continued, "I didn't mean to scare you. You just looked so cute there with your face all scrunched up that I had to come over."

She could have been mistaken, but she was sure he was blushing. Harry Potter was blushing at something he had said to her…what had he said again? Oh yes, she had looked cute. Well, it was a far cry for, "Ginny, you're amazing, you're beautiful and I love you!" but it would do…for just now. Grinning at her childish girly fantasies she shook her head and accepted her book from Harry.

"Oh, did you?" she continued, "well I'll remember that next time you're looking for the Golden Snitch and your face is all scrunched up and cute and we'll see who ends up most embarrassed."

Harry laughed and after a moment of staying straight faced, she joined him. She placed her quill into her bag and muttered the spell to hide the poetry before placing her book in her bag as well. She turned to face Harry, watching as he stared at her. He didn't even seem to notice that she was looking back at him, instead he seemed to be studying her. She shifted a little in her seat knowing that she should feel uncomfortable under his close scrutiny, but she just couldn't. She stared back at him, feeling her stomach fluttering as he continued to watch her.

"Ginny, would you go somewhere with me if I asked you to?"

She frowned and nodded, "Of course I would, Harry."

He seemed to be waiting for her to continue but she remained silent, watching him. "Aren't you going to ask where?"

She smiled, "You'll tell me when you're ready." He smiled his thanks as she curled her legs under her, snuggling further into the couch next to him. "I will ask one thing, though, and that's only when. Just let me know when you're ready." She wasn't sure why, but something inside told her that this was very important to Harry, something that he wouldn't be sharing with just anyone. And she wanted to make sure that he went through with it. As long as he felt comfortable in the knowledge that she would definitely be going with him, he would be less likely to back out. 

"I will. Thank you, Gin, I really appreciate it." He smiled at her and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss onto her forehead before squeezing her hand and leaving. She was so stunned that she stayed where she was for a long time before muttering a soft, "Anytime, Harry." to the empty room.

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

Ginny pulled her robes tighter around her, the bitter cold wind tingling her skin. She tried to force herself to resist the urge to shiver, but she couldn't. Glancing to her left, she noticed Harry looking at her. He had stopped walking and was staring at her with concern on his features.

"Ginny, we should go back, it's freezing, you'll get ill."

"I don't care, Harry, this is important to you, so it's important to me. I'm not leaving."

Harry frowned, "I don't want you to end up sick because of me."

She sighed and moved closer to him, placing a soothing hand on his arm, "Harry, I know you. You believe me that much, right?"

"Ginny you know me better than anyone, probably even Ron sometimes."

She smiled, "Then you know you can't fool me, right?" Harry nodded slowly. "Then don't try to lie now. I know this is important to you, so please don't try to tell me otherwise. I'm here for you Harry, just let me in."

After a moment of staring at her, he reached up a hand and stroked her cheek and she relished in the feel of his skin as her eyes fluttered closed and she moved into his touch. She opened her eyes again to find him staring at her intensely and she suddenly became very aware of just how close they were standing. The wind seemed forgotten as warmth spread through her. She felt right, at home, she felt more alive than she ever had. 

The moment was broken as the wind whipped Ginny's cloak up causing it to billow up like a hot air balloon. Laughing, she straightened out her robes and smiled at Harry, reaching out to take his hand. They walked for a few more minutes until Harry stopped them. Ginny turned to look at him and was suddenly faced with just how much her friendship with Harry meant to her. He was holding his broomstick as he seated himself, before pulling on her hand. She hesitated for a moment before allowing him to pull her in front of him. When she was settled, he pulled her back against him and she shivered at the feel of his breath on her neck. She felt his hand making small, slow circles on her stomach and she relaxed a little. 

She felt his whisper against her cheek, "Gin, I won't let you fall, I promise."

"I know," she replied, turning her head to look at him. Suddenly they were face to face and her heart was pounding in her chest. She saw him gulp a little and she couldn't help the smile that graced her mouth, just as she couldn't help the unconscious movement of licking her lips. Harry noticed the curve of her mouth and from the look in his eyes, he had noticed her licking her lips as well. 

She couldn't believe she was even thinking it, but it seemed too real to be anything but true. Harry Potter was affected by her, he even seemed to, dare she even think it, want her. She looked once more into his eyes and froze. He was moving closer, it was happening very slowly, but she knew it was happening. Suddenly the wind blew an almighty gust and she shrieked as the Harry accidentally kicked them off the ground.

"Ginny! Ginny, it's okay." She was gripping at the broom with one hand and holding onto Harry's arm for her life with the other. "Ginny," His voice was softer and she cautiously turned her head again. "I said I wouldn't let you fall and I meant it. Do you trust me?" She was too terrified to speak, but she nodded. "Then trust me when I say we'll be fine. This won't be like it was with the dragon Gin, this is just flying in a strong wind, you remember what that's like, don't you?"

She was too stunned to notice the end of the question, "You knew?" she whispered and he nodded. "You knew I was afraid to fly because of the Horntail?"

"You hadn't flown since, Ron was worried, so was Hermione, and…and so was I. It wasn't like you. Ron said you always loved to fly, always loved family Quiddich games, but that summer you wouldn't play. And you never flew after that. And…and you stopped…I mean you…"

"I stopped coming to watch you play Quiddich?" He nodded and she sighed, "I'm sorry, Harry, but I couldn't do it again. I've seen you fall off brooms so many times and I've always been worried, but this was different. This was a dragon that was trying to kill you."

"Seems to be a popular thing with me," he joked and she smacked his arm.

"Don't even joke about it!"

He laughed a little before sobering up, "Gin, you've got to let it go. You can't give up something you love just because you're afraid. You taught me that by making sure I went through with this."

"You're right, I know that, and I will try." They smiled at each other and she nodded, "I'm ready to go now."

He smiled, "We're already here."

"What?" She looked around, noting that the scenery had completely changed. Harry had been flying them towards their destination the whole time. She grinned and turned round to him, kissing him on the cheek, "Thank you."

"Anytime."

When they had landed, Ginny took a moment before getting off the broomstick, Harry, however, seemed reluctant to move. Ginny understood why. He hadn't told her where they were going. They had been sitting in the common room with Hermione and Ron, studying, or in the boys' case, making up divination homework. He'd been restless all day and she'd almost asked him what was wrong, but Ron had beaten her to it. Harry had stuttered a few incoherent words before turning to Ginny and saying, "It's when." It had taken her a moment to register what he meant but then she'd simply nodded and they'd gone to get their cloaks, leaving a rather confused pair of friends behind them.

Looking around her now, Ginny understood completely. She understood what the importance was and she understood his reluctance now. Placing her other hand over the one that remained on his broomstick, she gently worked the wooden object free, allowing it to clatter to the ground. Harry smiled a little, "If that's even so much as scratched…"

"I know, I know, I'll pay for it." She rolled her eyes and picked up his precious Firebolt from the ground. She smiled at him before taking his hand in hers and leading him into the graveyard.

He had never visited his parent's graves before, she didn't know how she knew, but she did. It was just something she understood. She'd never known anyone who had died. A strange occurrence given the sheer size of her family, but it was true. No relative or friend had died. She had known of many people like poor Cedric Diggory, but she'd never really _known_ anyone. Yet this felt like she was visiting someone dear to herself. She felt like she was going to cry right now.

After using a quiet locating spell, they soon found themselves in front of a beautifully crafted wooden grave marking, twice as big as the ones next to it. A joint one, like some of the others they had passed. There must have been some kind of protective spell cast over it for it still looked as good as new. Ginny tried to hold back a little, but Harry clutched at her hand, pulling her right against him and she leaned her head against the back of his arm, placing her other arm around his back. She knew there were tears streaking down his face, she knew because she was crying herself, and her feelings could be nowhere near as heart wrenching as Harry's.

They stood like that for a while, just staring at the gently crafted words, _"Here lie the bodies of James and Lillian Potter as their souls move on. Loving parents, caring friends, you shall be sorely missed"_

"I wasn't sure you'd ever find this place."

Ginny turned round with Harry as the voice broke them from their thoughts. She quickly wiped her eyes and noticed that Harry was doing the same. When her vision was clear, she looked up to see Harry giving his Godfather a hug. A few moments later, she found the elder staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably because, although she had never met him and as much as she knew that Sirius was no murdered, she had once believed so, and that made her feel so unbelievably guilty.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out. She hadn't even realised she'd said it. His look was as amusing as Harry's as their faces held the exact same expression of confusion. "I'm sorry I believed that you were…were a murderer."

Sirius actually laughed at this, "Ginny, there was no way you could have even known otherwise. What have you to be sorry about? You only believed what everyone else still does."

"That doesn't make it right. I hated you for most of my life because I thought you had deprived Harry of his parents. When I met him, those feelings grew stronger…and I'm sorry."

Sirius' expression was serious as he walked towards her. He took a hold of her arms and leaned down at her eyelevel, "Ginny, thank you for saying that. I want you to know it means a lot to hear someone say that, but please listen and believe what I have to say. You have nothing to feel guilty about, nothing at all. You were born and raised believing everything that you did and the fact that you're so sorry about something that you had absolutely no control over, simply shows what an amazing young lady you really are. Now," he straightened up, "I think we need to have a little word with Lilly and James about what I saw when I got here." He winked at Ginny and she blushed despite herself.

"You know," Harry said stepping towards them, "I think that's one of the longest speeches you've ever given, my dad be proud…and shocked." Harry grinned impishly.

"What've you heard?"

"Oh, nothing…just a little something Professor Lupin told me once."

"That man is a big fat liar, don't you go believing a word he tells you. Right Ginny? That goes for you, too." Ginny grinned and looked over at Harry. He seemed a lot happier than she'd seen him in a long time. She like him this way. He seemed so much more carefree, so much more…at peace. 

They spent most of the evening with Sirius until they were ordered back to their "_respective_" beds. Ginny blushed as Sirius hugged her goodbye and told her, "You're good for him, Ginny, he needs you. And I want an invite to the wedding." She didn't know what came over her, he was an adult after all, but she smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ouch!" Sirius pulled back in feigned shock, "Harry, I think you'd better keep a close eye on this one." He winked at her before saying goodbye to his Godson. It took them over an hour to get home as the wind had risen in force and a storm had begun. It was lucky for them that Professor Dumbledore seemed to have known where they were, as they arrived back two hours after their curfew and were promptly sent to the hospital wing.

"Oh well," Ginny sighed, "looks like we wont be going to our _respective_ beds after all." She grinned at Harry and giggled when he winked at her. As they climbed the stair she felt his hand slip into hers and she smiled, pulling him a little closer. Things were definitely getting better, in fact they were getting great.

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

**END PART 3**

_Well, what d'ya think? I plan to summarise only the important part of that year so that I can get back to the original time of the fic! ;) This fic is going to be split in time, half about the past, half about the future. I just haven't decided if I want to do part at a time or deal with the past first and then the future…opinions, anyone? Either way, I hope you all enjoy the ride :)_

_Feedback is a wonderful gift :)_


	3. Part 3: In the Hands of Babes

**_All Good Things_**

**_Part 3: In the Hands of Babes_**

**_By Kyizi_**

_This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last year._

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

****

**_Disclaimer: _**_These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story._

**_Rating: _**_PG-13 for innuendo._

**_Pairing: _**_Harry/Ginny ;)_

**_Distribution: _**_Ask and I'll likely say yes, but please do ask._

**_Spoilers: _**_All four books will, no doubt come into this at some point._

**_Feedback: _**_is a precious gift. It's nice to give ;) _

**_E-mail:_**_ kyizi@hotmail.com_

**_Notes: _**_Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this one! And I'm really sorry for the wait this time! (Black Mage, thanks for the reminder that I needed to write more to this one!)_

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Ginny giggled as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was a nervous habit, she knew, but it was comforting none the less. Harry smiled at her and she couldn't help the blush that rose in her cheeks. Ron glared in her general direction and she stuck her tongue out at him. Ever since that night at the graveyard, she and Harry had kept in contact with Sirius, something that not even Ron and Hermione knew about, and they were busy planning their next escape to meet Harry's Godfather.

"Well, we can't do it tomorrow night, 'cause Ron wants to have practice, so I think it'll have to be tonight,"

"Tonight?" she asked, a little shocked at the short notice. "How will we be able to let him know in time? He might think we're death eaters and accidentally kill us or something."

"Gin," Harry raised his eyebrows sceptically. "Considering that we have a key and you make enough noise to raise the dead, I really don't think he could mistake us for death eaters,"

"I do not make a lot of noise!" she yelled, causing half the common room to laugh at her.

"Sure you don't, Ginny," Seamus winked. "But I can help you put that to the test later if you like." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively and she giggled, a plan forming in her mind at the look on Harry's face.

"I don't think you could keep up with me, Seamus," she smiled sweetly. "From the way Parvati tells it, you're a in and out kinda guy."

"Ginny!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to Ron. "He started it,"

"And I'm finishing it!" He turned to glare at Seamus. "She's my little sister, and I don't want you, or anyone else," his eyes danced momentarily in Harry's direction. "Anywhere near her."

"Ron!" her eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to look at her, and she didn't miss that he gulped. "I think you had better stop planning out my life! If Harry and I wanted to run off and have a million babies then it would be none of your business!" Ginny wasn't sure, but she thought Ron might have dislocated his jaw, and his eyes were pretty much falling out of their sockets. A small part of her was aware that the entire common room was snickering and had, therefore, heard the entire conversation, but she didn't really care and with the volume her voice had reached, she couldn't really expect anything else. 

"Now, if you'll excuse us," Ginny stood up, pulling Harry with her, although she didn't really have the courage to look at him. "Harry and I are off to find somewhere quiet and secluded to make a start on all those babies." With that, she ignored Ron's outraged splutter and pulled Harry to the common room door, stepping out and walking straight into Professor Dumbledore.

"Ah, Miss Weasley, Mr Potter, just the people I was looking for," Ginny looked up at the headmaster wide-eyed before turning to Harry. He was staring at her with a bit of a smirk, but there was a blush on his face and she knew he was still thinking about the scene that had just occurred in the common room. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and the two looked back up at him. "If you have a moment out with your busy plans for this evening, I would like a word with you both in my office."

Ginny nodded dumbly and she felt Harry squeeze her hand. She was mortified, there had been a definite glint in the headmaster's eyes as he had spoken and there was no doubt in Ginny's mind that the 'plans' he'd been talking about were those she had just yelled at the entire common room. She scrunched up her face, wishing she could crawl into tiny hole and never come out. She heard Harry snickering and turned to him, glaring with all her might but he simply smiled widely at her and it wasn't long before she was smiling as well. She noted that his cheeks were as red as she knew hers were and that gave her some comfort, although he hadn't been the one that had informed Gryffindor Tower that they were away to find someplace to have sex. Just the thought that Professor Dumbledore knew what she had said made her cringe.

"Peppermint Pods!" With a start, Ginny realised that they had reached Professor Dumbledore's office. She allowed Harry to pull her up the stairs, only now aware that he was still holding her hand. She smiled at the thought and her smile widened into a grin of glee when Harry dropped her hand and crossed the room to give Sirius a hug. She stood back a little and waited until Sirius looked her way before walking across the room and hugging Harry's Godfather tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"We were coming to see you tonight," Harry said, and Ginny saw him smiling at the fact that she had yet to let go of Sirius.

"Things have got a little complicated, Harry," Ginny pulled back at the tone of his voice and she turned to Harry, an identical look of confusion and worry on her face as he wore on his. Sirius sighed and indicated the soft chairs next to the fire and the three of them sat down, Professor Dumbledore joining them a moment later. "You Know Who is on the move again."

Ginny felt her jaw tighten and her hands involuntarily began to shake a little. She was sitting next to Sirius and opposite Harry, so she wasn't surprised when it was Sirius that gave her shoulders a squeeze instead of Harry. She took a deep breath and shook her head a little, knowing that she would have to keep it together if she wanted to be a part of this…whatever this was.

"Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, what we are about to tell you must go no further than this room and you must listen carefully," Ginny and Harry exchanged a look but they both nodded. "We have reason to believe that Voldemort will be making a move on Hogwarts,"

Ginny gasped and Harry's eyes widened. "But Professor, how? I mean Hogwarts is protected why would He even try to…"

"Miss Weasley, there is only so much a spell can do. We do not know how, but it has come to our attention that the wards around Hogwarts may indeed, be broken."

"Broken?" Harry asked, his voice slightly more than a whisper. 

"Yes, Mr Potter,"

"What has this got to do with us?" Ginny asked, causing all attention to turn her way. "I mean, I know this is valued information but you've always strived to keep Harry away from danger, he always found out stuff like this on his own with Ron and Hermione." She paused for a moment, watching as Harry caught her line of thinking. "I mean, you're telling us something that you would normally want to keep away from everyone, especially Harry, given his tendency to throw himself into danger against He Who Must Not Be Named."

Harry frowned at her analysis of his fights with Voldemort, but nodded all the same. "Ginny's right, you wouldn't normally tell me all this, what's wrong."

Sirius laughed a little and Dumbledore smiled. "I see there is much perceptiveness in you, Miss Weasley, and you are, indeed, correct."

Sirius cleared his throat and Dumbledore nodded, obviously giving him the okay to divulge the information he was about to. "You Know Who is getting stronger. Every day he builds on his power. Harry, I know you haven't said, but you must know this,"

Harry looked reluctant to say anything but Ginny nodded. "Harry's been having nightmares again," she said softly. He smiled at her, thankful that he wasn't the one that had to say it. Saying it himself made it real but Ginny saying it made him realise that it wasn't just real, it was dangerous as well, and he needed that kind of realism given what Sirius was telling them.

Sirius nodded and continued. "We wont be able to stop him."

Ginny turned to him and shook her head. "No, you…you have to be able to stop him…you have to…"

"Ginny, I said _*we*_ couldn't stop him."

Ginny frowned. "Can Harry?"

Sirius smiled. "Not just Harry. You and Harry."

"What?" Ginny asked in wonder.

"No."

Her head swivelled in Harry's direction a glare on her face already. "What do you mean, no?"

Harry shook his head. "It's bad enough that I got you involved this much, I won't let you be placed in more danger."

"You won't let me?" Ginny's voice was taking on dangerous tones and Harry gulped. "Harry Potter, let me get one thing straightened out right here and now. No one, not you, not Ron, not anyone will be _*letting*_ me do anything. If I choose to help the war effort where I can make a difference then I will do so without requiring your consent, understood?" Harry looked like he was about to protest, but she continued, her voice softer, slightly sad. "Do you ever give me the choice to stop you when you face You Know Who?"

There was a small silence before Sirius spoke. "Harry, you don't really have a choice, you need her for this one,"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and smiled sadly at them. "Harry, Virginia, I am loathe to ask any of my students something of this manner, but you may be our only hope." 

"What can we do, Professor?" Harry asked, meeting Ginny's eyes with a slight apology. She smiled and they both turned to look at Dumbledore.

The headmaster shook his head slightly and looked into the fire for a moment. "Harry, has anyone ever told you what your parents did for a living?"

Harry frowned. "Er…no, not really."

Dumbledore nodded. "Your parents worked for the Ministry of Magic, Harry. Your mother was an Auror and your father worked in the Department of Defence Against Dark Wizards. Together, they were almost unstoppable; nothing but their friendships and family could stop them from doing their jobs. Unfortunately it was the knowledge of their friends and family that would be their downfall and they both knew it." Dumbledore paused for a moment and Ginny watched Harry carefully, watching his face as he learned about his parents.

"Harry," Sirius caught his Godson's attention and continued from where Dumbledore had stopped. "Before they died, your parents were working on a spell, something that would stop Voldemort and his followers, something that could end it all in one go…but it was never finished."

"Don't you have their notes?" Ginny asked. "Couldn't someone else continue?"

Sirius shook his head. "There were no notes…well, nothing tangible to anyone but James and Lily…or Harry and you."

At this Harry frowned. "But my parents didn't know Ginny, she might not have even been born."

Ginny smiled sadly at him. "Harry, I was born the day your parents died."

"Oh,"

Ginny sent him a sad smile before turning back to Sirius. "But he's right, Harry's parents didn't know I existed."

"They didn't need to. Harry knows you exist and that's all that matters." 

"But, why me? I mean, why not Hermione or someone else, how do you know I'm the one you need?"

Sirius laughed. "Harry's the one that needs to know it's you, Ginny, not me. I just happen to see through my Godson like a piece of glass, it's you Ginny, don't worry about that."

"But, I still don't understand why…"

"Gin," She turned to look at Harry. "It's you," Harry offered her a smile and she returned it but the confusion was still on her face.

"Okay," she said softly, figuring she could question Harry later.

"Harry, Ginny, I'm not saying this to pressure you, but you have to know," Sirius took a deep breath. "The Ministry is useless and those of us still fighting are getting weaker by the day. We need you, the world needs you to stop this if you can, or at least try. The future may be in your hands,"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other with determination and nodded, sharing a sad smile. 

"Where do we begin?"

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

**END PART 3**

_Okay, sorry it's taken so long to get this part out, but for some reason this fic is just not cooperating and becoming harder and harder to write! You can all thank Black Mage for this chapter as it was her yelling at me to get off my butt and do something about it that got it written! (Okay, so those weren't her exact words, but I interpreted them that way!)_


	4. Part 4: When the Future Lies in the Past

All Good Things  
Part 4: When the Future Lies in the Past  
(Originally meant to be called The Seeing Stone)  
  
By Kyizi  
  
This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last  
year.  
  
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Disclaimer: These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story.  
  
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo.  
  
Pairing: Harry/Ginny  
  
Distribution: Ask and I'll likely say yes, but please do ask.  
  
Spoilers: All four books will, no doubt come into this at some point.  
  
Feedback: is a precious gift. It's nice to give ;)  
  
E-mail: kyizifanfic@hotmail.com  
  
Yahoo ! Group : KyiziFic  
  
Notes: I am so sorry about the wait this time! I want to warn you, I've been doped up on Draco/Ginny, so if Harry randomly turns into Draco during this, SORRY! ;-p  
  
Notes 2: Okay, there is now a plan! I had one previously as well, but I have no idea where the heck it went! This is still part 4 of 8 though!  
  
  
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Ginny rubbed her eyes and closed the book on the table in front of her, staring once again at the stone in her hands. It was a stunning rock; clear crystal and beautifully cut, and resting heavily in her hand. Sirius had handed it to Harry almost reverently and they had spent the last two hours just looking at it, trying to make it work. Sirius had told them that it was a storage device, one that was very difficult to create, so complex that each one was different, and only those that created it would fully understand how to open it.  
  
Her gaze scanned the room and her eyes fell on Harry. His shoulders were hunched slightly as he seemed to be drinking information from the book in front of him. She smiled as she noticed that it was a stance he seemed to have inherited from his Godfather, who was standing to Harry's left.  
  
She knew that it was wrong that it felt so right to be there, but despite the knowledge that Ron and Hermione would feel left out, she couldn't help but be happy that Harry trusted her enough to let her be such a large part of this. More than that, he said that she was the only one who could be there. There was a fluttering in her stomach as that thought registered; there was something that only she could do for Harry and despite telling her heart that she shouldn't get her hopes up, despite the fact that her brain was telling her that he only needed her as a friend, she couldn't help but remember the look in his eyes whenever he was watching her.  
  
She knew that the main reason they were so close was that he felt so left out by Ron and Hermione. The two were doing nothing wrong, their relationship was simply getting deeper and Ginny knew, as Harry did, that it would not be long before Hermione and Ron finally admitted how they felt about each other. But until then, and perhaps even more so when it finally happened, Harry felt like the third wheel.  
  
She knew she should care that the main reason Harry had taken the time to get to know her was because he had no one else, but Ginny preferred to think of it another way. She preferred to think of it as the fates finally realising that she was there and she was waiting for him, and that all they needed to do was find some way to let Harry know that. And they had.  
  
However, despite the fact that Ron and Hermione had each other, and Harry had her, she knew that her brother was beginning to feel left out, and Hermione probably was as well. She often had to force herself not to think of the look she would see in her brother and Hermione's eyes' when he finally found out that Harry and Ginny had been spending so much time with Sirius and not telling them.  
  
She liked that she had a secret with Harry, something that no one else knew about, but she knew Ron wouldn't see it that way. All he would see was Harry shutting him out. Ginny knew what the three friends meant to each other, she had, after all, been jealous of it since Ron had come home from his first year at Hogwarts. She and Ron had been as close as the twins when they were younger, but as soon as Ron had gone to Hogwarts and the fabulous trio had come together, Ginny had been pushed further and further into the background.  
  
She didn't blame Ron, she knew he was only doing what everyone did when they started a new part of their lives, they made friends. Everyone did, well, everyone except from her. No, she had been so shy that the only friend she had made in her first year was a diary possessed by the most powerful dark wizard of their time.  
  
She sighed and curled her legs under her, resting her head against the arm of the couch. She was so tired and if the clock on Dumbledore's wall was right, she wasn't surprised. It was already well past midnight.  
  
She glanced warily up at Harry and smiled. He, Sirius and Dumbledore were looking through Dumbledore's books, trying to find out anything about how to unlock the stone. She watched as Harry closed the book he was holding, placed it on the shelf and made his way over to her.  
  
"Hey," he said softly, sitting on the table opposite her. He reached out and pushed a strand of hair off her face.  
  
She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. "Hey," she whispered.  
  
"You should sleep."  
  
"I will when you will," she said with a wry smile.  
  
"There's no use in us both being tired."  
  
"But Sirius said it would take us both to open this," Ginny said, holding up the stone.  
  
"And when we've figured out how to do that, I promise I'll wake you."  
  
"But I think I'm close to figuring out the markings on it."  
  
"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.  
  
"Well, no," she blushed. "But they seem so familiar."  
  
"I know." Harry sighed. "I recognise them too."  
  
"Must be in the stars," she said with a wink as Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
"Okay, that's not even funny."  
  
"Hey," she said, playfully swiping his arm. "Divination is a perfectly plausible form of magic, just because you can't tell the difference between tea leaves and a dirty cup doesn't mean that it isn't real. Besides, the secret to You Know Who's downfall is trapped in a crystal ball." Ginny said with a smirk.  
  
Harry shook his head, smiling. "Very funny. Ginny, there is absolutely no truth in anything that Professor Trelawney says. If there was, I'd have died more horrific deaths than I can count on both hands."  
  
"I didn't say that Professor Trelawney was right, I said that Divination is a real form of magic. Most people just have so much trouble believing in it that they won't open their minds to the possibilities or the truths that are right in front of them if they'd take the time to look."  
  
Harry raised his eyes sceptically and turned to Sirius, who had stopped reading and was watching them with what Ginny could only describe as a wistful gaze. "Sirius, back me up here."  
  
Sirius smiled, almost sadly and shook his head. "I never got involved in this debate in the past, and I won't start now. Actually," Sirius said with a frown. "That's a lie, I did get involved and I instantly regretted it. Never tempt fate more than once." Sirius winked at her and turned back to his book, but Ginny could tell his mind was elsewhere.  
  
She turned to Harry, but her confusion was nothing to what she could read on his face. He turned to her and she smiled. "What was that about?"  
  
"I have no idea." Harry shrugged. "But from the way he was talking, I'd guess."  
  
"Your parents?" Ginny asked when he seemed unable to continue.  
  
Harry nodded and turned back to look at Sirius. "He really misses them."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I just wish there was someone who could be there for him."  
  
"He has you, Harry." Ginny reached out and touched his shoulder and he faced her with a small smile. "And he has me, and Professor Lupin and Hermione and Ron and Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore. There are a lot of people here who love him and trust him."  
  
"I know that, but." Harry sighed. "But it's not the same. He never really got the chance to say goodbye to them, he never really got the chance to do much of anything. He was barely out of school when they took him to Azkaban and he's still running, Ginny."  
  
"And as soon as we sort this mess out, we'll catch Peter Pettigrew and we'll clear Sirius' name. He'll have a life, Harry, and he'll always have us."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Ginny shrugged. "What for?"  
  
"For being here." Harry said, and she could see that he was getting slightly uncomfortable. She knew he had trouble talking about his feelings, but he seemed determined to continue. "Thank you for staying when you should be out there having fun, living your life."  
  
"Harry," she said sadly. "No one can really live their lives. Not really, not while You Know Who is allowed destroy everything around us. If I can do something to help the people around me, the people I love, live, then I'll do it. No matter the cost."  
  
"Ginny, I want you to promise me something." When her only answer was a frown, Harry continued. "I want you to promise me that when he comes, when Voldemort comes here, to the school, that you'll run. I want you to promise me that you'll keep yourself safe no matter what."  
  
Ginny blinked back tears and forced herself to remain calm, giving him a watery smile. "I won't make a promise that I can't keep, Harry." When he started to protest, she placed a finger over his lips. "Harry, you never had a choice about where you stood in this war. You've never been given the choice of where to stand when You Know Who comes. You were born into this."  
  
"And you weren't, which is why you should keep yourself safe!"  
  
"And how would I live, Harry." It was his turn to frown and Ginny leaned a little closer to him. "You said I should have the chance to live a normal life, well, that normal life is going to include you, Harry Potter, whether you like it or not." He smiled at her, but she could sense he was still about to protest. "I will be by your side if and when you need me, because you will need someone. And I know you have Hermione and Ron and I know that I can never compete with what the three of you have, and that's all right. I don't want to compete with them. But I am here, Harry and I will continue to be here until the day I die."  
  
"I.Ginny, I don't want to lose you."  
  
"You won't. Not ever. But that works both ways, Harry. Because I can't lose you; I won't lose you. Think about it, Harry, if it was me, would you let me go into it on my own? If the roles were reversed and I was telling you to keep yourself safe, would you do it?"  
  
Ginny was almost afraid to hear his answer as she stared at him, almost frozen in his gaze. She didn't know what she would do if he rejected her, not when she had just bared her soul to him so openly. It seemed to take forever before he spoke, but, when he placed his hand over the one she had on his cheek, she could see it in his eyes.  
  
"No, I wouldn't leave you. I'll never leave you."  
  
Harry reached out a hand to stroke Ginny's face and she leaned into his touch, aware that her breathing was slightly laboured, but no longer caring that she was in the headmaster's office. As long as Harry kept touching her so tenderly, she could care less where she was or who else was in the room.  
  
She knew what was happening, she knew that he was leaning closer, but her head kept telling her heart to be quiet; that it couldn't be happening, that Harry Potter was not about to kiss her. But as his lips gently brushed against hers, Ginny stopped thinking altogether.  
  
She felt Harry's hand running down her cheek, sending tingles through her entire body. She moved closer and tentatively opened her mouth a little, inviting him to deepen the kiss. As she felt his tongue gently probing her mouth, he placed a hand over hers on the stone.  
  
A bright silver light engulfed the room, blinding them momentarily and they jumped apart. When Ginny opened her eyes, she gasped. The air around them seemed to have been covered in glitter, an odd sparkling of fiery shapes appearing seemingly at random points in the room. She saw movement in her peripheral vision ad glanced at Sirius and Dumbledore, who were also regarding the room with an element of surprise.  
  
She looked at Harry, but he seemed transfixed, his gaze resting on some point behind her. His look was so stunned that she was almost afraid to see what he was looking at. Bracing herself, she turned unable to stop herself from gasping again, her breath almost stopping.  
  
Harry's parents stood before them.  
  
~x~x~x~x~x~  
  
End of Part 4  
  
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As always, feedback is a gift that's always well received :)  
  
A/N: These are some things that were brought to my attention by Loriel when  
she read Part 3 and I wanted to clarify  
  
"I don't think you could keep up with me, Seamus," she smiled sweetly. "From the way Parvati tells it, you're a in and out kinda guy." *shock* Ginny is waaay to young and innocent for this kind of talk! Yeah, right!  
  
Okay, Ginny shocked herself here! She's not even sure where she got the guts. Point is, with Harry's friendship, she feels a lot more confident and less like the little girl that lusted after him.  
  
"Now, if you'll excuse us," Ginny stood up, pulling Harry with her, although she didn't really have the courage to look at him. "Harry and I are off to find somewhere quiet and secluded to make a start on all those babies." ROTFL! I can't imagine Ginny *ever* being brave enough to do this, but its definitely a very Ginnyish thing to do!  
  
Pretty much as above!  
  
"You Know Who is on the move again." Question: Doesn't Sirius call him by his name?  
  
I think that Sirius is all too aware that Ginny might not appreciate him using Voldemort's name. As is implied in the previous parts, he's got to know Ginny a lot better so he would know this. 


	5. Part 5: A Little More Conversation

**_All Good Things_**

**_Part 5: A Little More Conversation_**

By Kyizi 

****

This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last year.

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

__

**_Disclaimer: _**_These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story._

**_Rating: _**_PG-13 for innuendo._

**_Pairing: _**_Harry/Ginny _

**_Distribution: _**_Ask and I'll likely say yes, but please do ask._

**_Spoilers:_**_ All four books will, no doubt come into this at some point._

**_Feedback: _**_is a precious gift. It's nice to give ;) _

**_E-mail:_**_ kyizi@hotmail.com_

**_Notes: _**_I am so sorry about the wait this time! I want to warn you, I've been doped up on Draco/Ginny, so if Harry randomly turns into Draco during this, SORRY! ;-p_

**_Notes 2: _**_I'm sorry this took so long to update, but this was difficult to get into, however, I'm sure you'll see that when I got started it just kept on coming. This is the longest chapter to date (although only slightly!). I hope you enjoy!_

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

The room was silent for what seemed like a long time. The four of them continued to stare at Harry's parents in complete awe and Ginny was sure it would have continued that way if Harry's father hadn't broken the silence.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day that Sirius Black was at a loss for words."

Sirius laughed and Ginny was sure she could almost see the youth returning to his face. "Well, I think that given the circumstances, I'm well within my rights."

"You got old," James said with a smirk and Sirius was about to reply when Lily gasped. When they had appeared, both James and Lily's attentions had been on Sirius and Dumbledore, but it now seemed that Lily had spotted her son. 

"It can't be," she said, her hand over her mouth. "That can't be my Harry."

James turned to look at his son and his eyes widened. "Harry?"

Ginny turned to look at Harry, but he didn't seem to register that she was still there, in fact he seemed unable to do anything. He was ghostly white and tears were making their way down his cheeks, but still he didn't move. She placed a hand on his and he grasped at it, but his vision remained fixed on his parents.

James tore his eyes away from his son and looked at Sirius. "It didn't work, did it? We weren't able to hide from Voldemort."

Sirius swallowed hard and shook his head. "No," he said, but he spoke so softly Ginny wasn't sure if he actually said anything at all.

"They didn't find you, did they? They didn't torture you to find out where we were?"

Sirius closed his eyes. "I only wish they had. Then you'd be safe." James nodded, but his confusion was evident. He placed his arms around Lily, who was still staring at Harry in shock. 

"Our little boy's all grown up," she said, starting to cry softly. She turned to their old friend. "You did a good gob, Sirius."

Sirius shook his head. "I didn't do anything, I only wish I could have."

Lily frowned. "I don't understand." 

"I know and I'm sorry."

"Where's Remus?" James asked, looking around the room. "And what about Peter? Is he all right?"

"He killed you!" Harry shouted suddenly, and everyone jumped. "He was the one that betrayed you! He took you away from me and he took Sirius away from me!"

Lily and James looked shocked. They turned to Sirius but he seemed unable to say anything and it was Dumbledore that finally nodded, confirming what Harry had said.

"I don't understand, Sir," James said, looking at his son's Godfather. "What happened?"

Sirius took a few deep breaths. "Peter betrayed us, James. He was in league with Voldemort."

"No!" Lily gasped. "I-I can't believe it. Not Peter."

"I'm afraid it's true," Dumbledore interjected. "I can see there is some explaining required, perhaps we should all sit down."

Dumbledore and Sirius sat on the couch Dumbledore conjured by the fire, as Harry joined Ginny on the couch, not letting go of her hand. She smiled and tugged him a little closer, and he squeezed her hand.

James and Lily walked around the couch and sat in the large armchair opposite them, and it was then that Ginny noticed they were solid. She had assumed they would be some form of projection, some ghostly image before them, but they actually looked as if they were real.

They spent about an hour explaining the turn of events to Lily and James, who both still seemed utterly shocked at their betrayal by one of their most trusted friends. Dumbledore had left for a while as Sirius explained most of the story from the beginning, but had returned to explain his part in leaving Harry with the Dursleys.

"My sister?" Lily asked, incredulously. "Harry was raised by Petunia?"

Dumbledore nodded. "She was his only surviving family and I believe that being raised by Muggles was in Harry's best interests. It would not do to have someone so famous raised to believe that he was the best thing since Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."

Lily nodded slowly, but James still looked a little furious that Harry had been raised by his sister-in-law. They had obviously been introduced at some point, Ginny realised.

The story continued and still Harry sat in silence. They reached his life at Hogwarts and finally had brought the Potters up to date with everything, including the Tri-Wizard Tournament, which James was as proud of as Lily was as angered by.

"He could have been killed!"

"He was great," Ginny said, speaking for the first time. She smiled. "I was terrified watching him, but he passed all the tests so well. Especially the dragon."

"Dragon!" Lily all but yelped. "My son had to fight a dragon?" She turned to Sirius with a frown. "I'm not sure how, but this is your fault."

"What?" Sirius asked incredulously, half a smile playing on his face. "How is it my fault? I had nothing to do with it!"

"I just said I didn't know how it was your fault. But it was."

"Well, that's not fair."

"It was always your fault, Sir," James said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Remember that."

"I object. You're putting a black mark on my character here!"

"Insulting your ego more like," Lily finished with a smile.

"Harry, Ginny, don't listen to a word she says. It was always Remus' fault!"

"Well, I object to that." 

They all turned to see Remus Lupin entering the room. Sirius laughed as he rose to greet his friend. They hugged quickly as Remus walked cautiously towards Lily and James. He smiled softly before turning to Dumbledore. 

"Apologies for my lateness. Your owl…caught me by surprise, to say the least." He turned to Lily and James again. "I might have known you'd find some extremely complicated way to keep your information, but really," Remus smirked. "A Compu-Crystal? That's a little excessive, even for you."

"Well, I thought it was rather amusing," James said with a smile. "After all, might as well make at least one crystal ball that works."

"Hey!" Lily said, smacking his arm. "Divination is a perfectly plausible form of magic, just because you can't tell the difference between tea leaves and a dirty cup doesn't mean that it isn't real."

Ginny glared at Sirius as he started laughing, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her. She chose to ignore him, instead turning to Harry. "See, Harry, I told you! There's nothing wrong with Divination!"

Again, Harry said nothing and that was when it seemed to strike everyone that he had remained completely silent since the crystal had been activated. Lily and James exchanged a glance before rising and walking toward him. Ginny felt as if she should leave, but Harry's grip on her hand tightened. Lily and James reached them and crouched before their son, each placing a hand on one of his knees.

  
"Harry?" Lily said, softly, but again he didn't  reply. She glanced at James who gave her a reassuring look.

"Harry," James said softly. "It's okay to be upset."

"I'm fine," Harry finally said, his gaze remaining down cast. He spoke so quietly that Ginny felt her heart break. "I just…" he looked at his parents, fresh tears in his eyes. "You're not real."

Lily looked away and James sighed. "Not completely, but in a sense, we are real, Harry. I'm not saying that we're flesh and blood, because we're not, but we are real entities. We exist, we are your parents and we love you very much."

Lily smiled and turned back to her son. "We're like memories, Harry. But we can think and act for ourselves. I-I'm not sure how to explain it."

"That's be a first," James teased and she mock glared at him.

"Think of it this way," she said turning back to her son. "If you could take a copy of yourself as you are at this moment in time, and put it in a box, then close that box up, that's what the Compu-Crystal did with us. The Crystal is the device that will kill Voldemort but we always knew it would take a part of ourselves to make it work. Or in this case, _all _of ourselves. I'm not explaining this very well, am I?" Lily said with a frown and Harry smiled.

"Let me see if I can word it right."

"That'd be a first," Lily said with a smile.

"Vixen." James laughed. "I assume you play Quidditch."

Harry smiled. "Since first year."

"First year?" James asked, his face breaking into a huge grin. "They let you on the team in first year?" Harry nodded. "What position do you play?"

"Seeker."

"Seeker?" James asked with a smile. "Incredible. I always wanted to play Seeker, but I wasn't built for it. I grew too quickly. Luckily, I made one hell of a Chaser. Don't think I could have survived if I hadn't made the team."

Harry nodded, knowing exactly what his father meant and Ginny smiled. He finally seemed to be relaxing a little. She looked at Harry's mother to find her eyes locking with Lily's green ones. She almost felt like she was looking at Harry's eyes, only the soul behind them was different. Lily was regarding her with a small smile and a curious gaze. Ginny felt her cheeks redden, but she couldn't pull her eyes away.

"Okay," James continued. "Voldemort is after the Snitch right?" Harry nodded. "Well, your mother and I were the opposing Seekers, in a way. We had to get to the Snitch before he did. Actually, we already had the Snitch, we just had to protect it. The Crystal is like a Bludger, it packs one hell of a…"

"James! Watch your language!"  
  


"Lily, he's fifteen."

"I don't care how old he is, you will not curse in front of our son."  
  


"Yes, dear," James said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.  
  
"And you can stop your laughing as well, Sirius Black." She said, not even turning around.

Sirius stopped snickering. "I wasn't laughing!"

"There's no point, Sir," James said with a smile. "Eyes in the back of her head, remember."

"Yeah," Sirius said, "but why does she never say anything to Remus?"

"Because," Lily said, turning to face him. "I like Remus." She smiled and laughed.

"You're lucky I know you're joking, Lily Potter." Sirius smiled. "We all know the only reason you married James was because I turned you down."

Lily laughed again. "You keep telling yourself that, Sirius."

"Anyway," James said, shaking his head. "Right, the crystal is the Bludger it packs one…it packs a punch, the one punch that will knock Voldemort off his broom and make him hit the ground so hard it'd kill him. So I guess, we're the Beaters as well. Sirius, Remus and…well…and we thought, Peter," James looked down, the betrayal of his friend still stinging. "Well, they were the chasers. They had to keep scoring small points until the bludger hit and the snitch was safe. In fact, the whole resistance were chasers, Sirius and Remus were just the star players."

"I think I object to being compared to a Quidditch player."  
  


"You're not the only one, Remus," Lily said with a smile.

"Anyway," James said, shaking his head again. "Did that make any more sense?"

Harry nodded. "It made sense as to why you made the Crystal, but not why you're in it."

"What better way to understand your own notes than if you're explaining it to yourself in your own words." Harry nodded. "Only thing we didn't bargain on was he fact that the copies would actually _be_ us."

"I still don't understand," Sirius said softly. "Are you real?" The longing in his voice made Ginny's heart contract. He, like Harry and everyone else in the room, wanted nothing more than for James and Lily to really be alive.

"Not quite, Sirius," Lily said sadly. "I feel alive, I really do, but I know I'm not. I don't need to breathe, I don't need to eat of drink, and if Harry and Ginny go too far away from the Crystal, it will lose power and we'll shut down, just like they can turn us off by shutting down the Crystal at will." She looked at her son and then at her husband and their friends. "But I can _feel_, and I can love. So in that respect, yes, Sirius, we're real."

For Harry that seemed to be enough, and he threw his arms around his mother in the same way he'd always wanted to. Lily hugged him to her and James put his arms around them both. 

"I'm so sorry we weren't there to see you grow up, Harry," Lily said into his hair. "But I am so proud of the young man I can see in you."

"And so am I," James said, placing a kiss on Lily's forehead.

It was a little while before anyone felt the need to continue, with their discussion about the war, and when the subject arose, a loud yawn from Ginny said it all. They all laughed and Ginny blushed.

"It is rather late," Dumbledore said with an indulgent smile. "Perhaps we had best continue this in the morning." There was a consensus of nods and Dumbledore stood. "Remus, Sirius, I believe it would be for the best if you were to remain in the castle, but please, Sirius, do not stray from your room unless I give you permission. It would not do for certain people to see you, even in your dog form."

Ginny knew he was referring to Professor Snape, having heard the whole story of what happened two years ago. Sirius nodded, but he didn't look too happy about it. 

"I will arrange for a room for you both." He stood and walked to his door, where a house elf appeared, and Dumbledore began to relay his instructions.

"Can I ask one more question?" Harry asked, and his parents nodded. "You said that Voldemort was after the Snitch and it was your job to protect it. What is the snitch?" Harry frowned as his parents glanced at Sirius and Remus who both nodded.

"I think it's time he knew," Sirius said.

Lily nodded and James smiled, turning to face him. "You're the snitch, Harry, and it's our job to keep you safe." 

When Harry looked as if he was going to ask more, Lily shook her head. "It's late, Harry, and there will be plenty of time for answers tomorrow, I promise." 

Harry slowly nodded. "Okay."

There was a short silence before James tapped Harry's knee. "So," he said, glancing at Ginny. "I have one more question to ask before we call it a night." His smile turned to a smirk and Ginny wanted to hide, sure she knew what was coming. "Who's this lovely red head you've been holding on to all night, Harry?"

Ginny felt her cheeks redden, and risking a glance at Harry, she could see he wasn't fairing much better. 

"James!" Lily smacked his arm with an indulgent smile. "Leave him alone." She looked at them briefly. "Besides, you know who she is. I told you she would be born."

James rolled his eyes. "Not this divination nonsense again."

"It's not nonsense!" Ginny and Lily said together, and the others laughed. 

"You've got your hands full with this one, Harry," James said with a wink.

"You have no idea," Sirius laughed.

"I believe the arrangement have been made," Dumbledore said, joining them again. "Tilly will show you to your room," he said, indicating the trembling house elf by the doorway. "She will, however, take you through the back route."

Sirius and Remus nodded, and said their goodbyes, and Ginny noted that Sirius had yet to actually approach James or Lily. He smiled hesitantly at them before following Remus and Tilly out a back entrance that Ginny had never noticed before. It sprouted out from behind a large tapestry of Hogwarts that was half hidden behind the wall in Dumbledore's library.

Harry turned to his parents and smiled unsurely. Lily reached out and pulled him into a hug as James winked at Ginny over his wife's shoulder. When Harry hugged his father, Ginny was shocked as Lily pulled her into an embrace.

"He needs you, Ginny," she whispered. "Don't let him go."

"I won't," Ginny vowed, and she knew that it was true. She wouldn't let Harry go, not ever.

When she pulled back, she was happy to see that Harry was smiling at her. She reached out and picked up the Crystal from the table, holding it out to Harry, who suddenly looked hesitant again.

"It's okay, Harry," his mother said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll still be here in the morning."

Harry smiled and reached out a hand towards Ginny. "Goodnight, mum, goodnight, dad," he said, and Ginny could tell he liked saying the words.

"Goodnight, Harry," Lily replied.

"Night, Har," his father said, and Harry smiled, finally placing his hand over Ginny's. There was another brilliant flash of light and when their vision cleared, Lily and James were gone.

Ginny looked at Harry, who looked lost. She took the Crystal with her free hand, turning the other one around in his, and holding onto him. "They'll be there in the morning, Harry," she said softly and Harry smiled at her.

"They really will, won't they?" Ginny nodded and they turned to face the headmaster.

Dumbledore smiled. "I will inform the staff that neither of you will be attending class tomorrow. Get some sleep, and I will see you here after lunch."

Harry and Ginny nodded, feeling more tired than they had realised. They moved to the door, stopping only when Dumbledore continued. "However, please inform Mr Weasley and Miss Granger that the same does not apply to them. They will be attending classes tomorrow."

When Harry and Ginny turned and looked at him with equal confusion, Dumbledore chuckled. "I believe you will find them under you invisibility cloak at the bottom of my stairwell, Mr Potter."

Ginny laughed and shook her head. Ron never could stand being left out. They bid Dumbledore farewell and exited the room. Ginny wasn't sure how she was still functioning after all the surprises they had had that evening. She knew that the time had come to fill in Hermione and Ron, and she knew that things were only going to get harder as they progressed, but as she glanced at Harry, she knew she wouldn't have things any other way.

He coughed her smiling at him and grinned, squeezing her hand. Ginny realised there was one thing she didn't know, and she resolved to ask Lily why she was involved, ignoring the small voice in her head that was telling her she already knew.

As they reached the bottom of the stairway, Ron and Hermione greeted them as they pulled off the invisibility cloak, demanding answers, and Ginny sighed. However much had happened that evening, there was one thing that she was certain of. Their journey was far from over. 

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

End of Part Five 

_~x~x~x~x~x~_

_Yes, I made James Chaser. To my memory, his position has never been clarified in the books, and I just liked it better this way._

_Please leave feedback and let me know what you thought and look out for Part Six, which I hope should be written soon :)_


	6. Part 6: Just For Us

All Good Things  
Part 6: Just For Us  
  
By Kyizi  
  
This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last  
year.  
  
~x~x~x~x~x~   
  
Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me; they are the property of J.K. Rowling. All original storyline and ideas are mine, do not use without permission.  
  
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo.  
  
Pairing: Harry/Ginny  
  
Distribution: Ask and I'll likely say yes, but please do ask.  
  
Spoilers: The first four books will, no doubt come into this at some point.  
  
Feedback: is a precious gift. It's nice to give.  
  
E-mail: kyizifanfic@hotmail.com  
  
Notes: In her review, Ronso said, "Merely making the point that James was a seeker at Hogwarts. This was made clear in Snape's pensive in book 5." I just want to clarify that (a) I disliked a fair bit of OotP, and since I started this fic before it was released, OotP canon is not included in this fic, and (b) if I really want to be pernickety, I could point out that James is only noted as playing with a snitch, and while the logical conclusion is that he is seeker, it's not actually stated! ;p Thanks for the review though, Ronso, and keep pointing out any mistakes you see! I love to know that people are paying more attention than I am!  
  
You're in for a treat! This is the longest chapter of AGT to date! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you all! This part is Harry's chance. All the other chapters are from Ginny's POV and I had intended to make the whole fic that way, but this one realy needed to be Harry's and you'll understand when you read it. I hope you enjoy. Ten points to whoever can find the Lord of the Rings reference!  
  
~x~x~x~x~x~  
  
Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, both actions soon becoming mannerisms, and he desperately wished them away. He was extremely tired and he felt as though he had been living in some strange alternate universe, only receiving the occasional visit from sanity.  
  
It had been four days since they had opened the crystal, and in those four days, he had felt as though his world had been turned upside down. Although he had to be careful, he finally felt as though his life was complete, and he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was waiting for the moment it would all be torn away from him.  
  
Sirius and Professor Lupin - or Remus, as he had been insisting on ("I'm not your professor anymore, Harry") - had been staying in an unused wing of the castle for the last few days, and Harry found that he was spending most of his time there.  
  
He ran his hands over the crystal that was in his pocket, thinking of the other new feature in his life. His parents. He couldn't help but smile at that. He had his parents, or at least a part of them, and he could keep them with him for as long as he wanted to. He wanted them there for Christmases, for Birthdays, for dinners, for lectures, for his graduation, his wedding, his children's birthdays and everyday that he had yet to life. Forever. That was how long he wanted.  
  
He turned as he felt a hand on his arm, moving over slightly to let Ginny squeeze onto the chair beside him. He had known she was there, had felt her approach. Another new feature in his life, the petite redhead was another more than welcome addition to his.his what? His heart?  
  
Ginny leaned her head against his shoulder and he moved his arm to let it fall around her shoulders as she snuggled against him. It was strange, letting her this close, although, he realised, he'd been doing it for a long time now. Letting her close to him had seemed so natural that he hadn't even realised he'd been doing it. He knew that she held a lot of power over this new life he had now, but he trusted her completely with it. He could only access the crystal, he could only see his parents, when Ginny was with him, helping him.  
  
He tried to fight back a blush as he remembered the second time they had opened the crystal. Despite how easy it had been to close, he had been unsure as to what had actually caused the crystal to open. Had it simply been their touching hands over the stone (the same thing that closed it), or had it been the kiss?  
  
It had been rather humiliating coming to that conclusion with Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione standing around them, waiting for them to open it. It also hadn't helped that Ron and Hermione were already miffed that they had been left out of visiting Sirius for the last few months. To then have had to ask Ginny if he could kiss her in front of her brother wasn't exactly top of Harry's list of things to do, not when it stood for being killed by his best friend.  
  
Luckily Ginny had come to the same conclusion and had blushed prettily as she took his hands in hers, whispering, "Why don't we try it this way first". She had smiled and then placed their joined hands on top of the crystal. It had shone brightly, once again, in an almost blinding light, and once again, Harry's parents had appeared before them.  
  
He smiled and tightened his grip of her shoulders. She seemed to understand him better than he understood himself most of the time. Over the last few days, she had shown him just how well she knew him. She just seemed to know when he wanted to see his parents, to talk to them, to know how much they loved him.  
  
She would do it without any kind of scene, and with nothing but gentle understanding in her eyes. She would simply take hold of his hand and lead him to the private room that was adjoined to the ones Remus and Sirius were using. It was set aside for them to use when Harry wanted to speak to his parents.  
  
Ginny would reach into his pocket and hold out the crystal to him. She just knew how much he hated to ask, so she would make the question her own, as if it was her who wanted to see his parents. And perhaps she really did want to. For herself or for him, he wasn't sure, but she seemed to want it too. But what he loved the most was the small blush she sometimes acquired as she leaned towards him, whispering, "Just to make sure," before she gently brushed her lips against his, pulling back only when they were surrounded by the blinding light and Harry was no longer sure if she was Ginny or an angel. Although that thought made him want to groan., he was turning into a complete sap! But then Ginny sighed and snuggled closer to him, and he realised that he didn't care.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, his gaze focussing on the fire in the grate.  
  
"I'm fine," she replied with a yawn. "Just a little tired. Are your parents still in with Sirius and Professor Lupin?"  
  
"Yeah." He nodded. "Ron and Hermione are in there as well. I just wanted some time to think."  
  
He felt her nod against him. "You must be overwhelmed."  
  
"Just a bit," he said with a laugh. "Where did you go? I felt the power drain a bit."  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry!" She sat up and looked at him wide eyed. "Nothing happened, did it? They didn't."  
  
"No, it's fine," Harry reassured her. "I could feel you nearby. I was able to keep the charm open."  
  
"I never even thought," she said, still feeling guilty. "I just forgot, I guess. I mean, I can sense them, I can sense you and I just, well.They can be in the next room when the crystal's in here, so it just never occurred to me that you'd need me to keep them out."  
  
"Of course I need you, Gin," he said softly, not realising what exactly what he had said until he heard it himself. He felt his cheeks redden, and he could see hers go slightly pink as well.  
  
"Thank you, Harry."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"For everything. For trusting me."  
  
He smiled, letting her snuggle up beside him again. He could sense her fatigue almost as if it was his own. He hadn't liked that at first, being able to sense her, her thoughts and emotions drifting into his head. It felt wrong, as if he was invading her privacy, and she his.  
  
Since being brought into the Wizarding world, he had felt as though his mind, who he was, was always being put on display, always being invaded by others. Voldemort had a connection so strong it even pushed it's way into Harry's dreams, and at first, for at least a few moments, it had felt as though Ginny was taking another part of him. But he soon realised that wasn't true. Ginny was sharing a part of him, and in turn sharing a part of herself. But what was more, was the fact that Harry was quite willing to share it.  
  
"How's Sirius?" she asked suddenly, breaking thorough his thoughts.  
  
"He's.okay."  
  
"I'm worried about him, too," Ginny said, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. "He just needs time, I think."  
  
"I don't know." Harry sighed. "I mean, he's acting normally enough, or at least, from what I know of his relationship with my parents and Prof- I mean, Remus, I think he is. But."  
  
"But it's like, if he touches them, they're real, and he can't handle that."  
  
"He still feels so guilty," Harry said, absently stroking her arm. "I wish he didn't but he does. And if my dad and mum forgive him, he won't know how to handle it, he won't know how he's meant to live anymore."  
  
"He's afraid of it, isn't he?" Ginny asked, softly.  
  
"I think he is. He had brought himself to the realisation that he'd never get that forgiveness for not being there for me. He'd accepted that he'd never have that and now that there's a chance, he doesn't feel he deserves it."  
  
"Of course he deserves it!" Ginny said forcefully. "He was so young. He had the only friends he ever really loved taken from him in one way or another, and everyone believed it was his fault. He lost his childhood. He was so innocent."  
  
Harry snorted. "In that sense, I doubt Sirius was ever innocent," he said with a smirk. He quickly sobered and continued. "But, in a way, I think you're right. He was thrown into jail with no trial and he lost his life. He lost everything."  
  
"And now that he's being offered a part of it back."  
  
"He doesn't know what to do with it," Harry finished. He felt Ginny nod and heard her stifled yawn. Grinning, he turned and kissed her forehead. "You should sleep."  
  
"I'm okay," she said, smiling up at him. "I'll wait until we have to close the crystal again."  
  
"I wonder what they're doing in there," Harry said, looking at the door. "Hermione's in heaven with all that research."  
  
Ginny laughed and nodded. "And Ron's in hell with Hermione having all that research." Harry grinned and she giggled. "Do you think they're actually together yet?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Don't know. Ron hasn't said anything, and neither has Hermione, but that means nothing. I mean, I knew they needed time together, that's why I didn't feel so guilty about leaving them out. Plus, it was nice having something that was just.us." Harry cleared his throat, not looking at her and continuing before she could say anything. "But they're both so.well, I doubt they'd be too thrilled about having to tell anyone."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Ginny said yawning and Harry laughed. "Sorry."  
  
"Someone's tired." They both glanced at the door again as Lily entered the room, smiling at them both. "We could sense how tired you both are. Lets leave this for tomorrow." She sat down on the couch opposite them as Harry and Ginny disentangled themselves, blushing profusely. Lily smiled knowingly, but continued without mentioning it. "Your dad's just arguing with Ron and Sirius about Quidditch."  
  
Harry groaned. "Not again."  
  
Lily and Ginny laughed and Ginny smirked at him. "I never thought I'd see the day Harry Potter got bored talking about Quidditch."  
  
"It's not the Quidditch talk that's boring, it's the arguing!" Harry said defensively. "I mean, okay, so the Cannon's are Ron's favourite team, and the Robins are Sirius' favourite team, and dad likes the Lions, doesn't mean they have to argue! They're not even in the same league!"  
  
"Righto Harry!" James said entering the room, Sirius and the others following closely behind. "The Lions are in a league of their own!"  
  
Ron snorted. "Yeah, because no one's that bad!"  
  
"Hey!" James said, turning to Ron. "Just because the Cannons are-"  
  
"James, honey, I beg you to stop this conversation and save all our sanity."  
  
James turned to his wife and smiled. "You know you love me no matter what."  
  
"And I can still love you muzzled."  
  
Sirius laughed and walked over to Lily. "You see, she knows that the Rutherglen Robins rule all Quidditch!" He went to sling his arm around her shoulders and stopped himself.  
  
Harry glanced and Ginny and she offered him a sad smile as Ron continued, oblivious. "Look, Sirius, I don't want to insult you or anything, but Scottich Quidditch just isn't up to par."  
  
"Excuse me, boy, but I think you'll find that Scottish Quidditch does just fine." Sirius said with a glare, and Remus laughed, rolling his eyes.  
  
"While this conversation is thrilling," Lily said sarcastically, "I think that our energy source is about to fall asleep."  
  
As if to punctuate her statement, Ginny yawned loudly. She glanced at the others, blushing profusely and Harry smiled at her.  
  
"Sorry," she said meekly.  
  
"It's okay, Gin, it's late." Harry smiled and stood up, moving to his mum and letting himself be hugged, squeezing back as hard as he could. It still surprised him that he had fallen so easily into the role of being a son. He had never had that kind of love he saw in the Weasley family, but now that he did, now that he had it right in front of him, he never wanted to let it go.  
  
"Night, Mum," he said with a smile.  
  
"Goodnight sweetheart," Lily said softly, kissing the top his cheek. He was a fair bit taller than his mum, and he did find that a bit strange, there should have been a time when he was shorter than her, but he didn't remember that.  
  
He pulled back and turned round, only to be enveloped in a hug by his dad, who clapped his back before pulling back and laughing. "You see if you can convince that mate of yours about some of the finer Quidditch teams," James said, ignoring Ron's snort, "and we'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Harry laughed. "I want nothing to do with this argument, but I will see you tomorrow. Night, dad."  
  
"Night, Har."  
  
Harry turned to see his mum hugging Ginny and whispering something into her ear. He couldn't make out what it was, but when she pulled back, Ginny's face was as red as her hair. He gave them a questioning look, but his mum raised her eyebrows and he smiled, shaking his head. They weren't telling him anything.  
  
Ginny moved towards him as he pulled the crystal from his pocket. Everyone was exchanging good nights, and when they were done, James put his arm around Lily, both of them smiling at Harry. Ginny took his hand in hers, and Harry couldn't help glancing at Ron to see his reaction. His friend was smirking at him, and he quickly turned away as Ginny placed their joined hands on the crystal, and the bright light surrounded them.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry knew it was late, far too late for him to be sitting in front of the fire on his own, but he couldn't sleep. They hadn't been back in Gryffindor Tower for long when he realised he was wide-awake. He didn't know why, but his mind was unwilling to shut down. And there was also the fact that his scar was burning.  
  
He had been feeling strange twinges for the last while, but nothing like he was experiencing at that moment. He felt as though his forehead was on fire and he was experiencing strange flashes. Disjointed pictures and brief instances of sound invaded his senses; some conversations, some noises, but more often than not screaming. But there was nothing he could put together, nothing that they didn't already know.  
  
'Attack.hiding.spy.information.Hogwarts'  
  
It all lead to the warning Sirius had given them, and it made everything all the more real. They were in serious danger. Everyone he loved was in danger, Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione.Ginny.  
  
"Harry." He turned sharply as Ron descended the final steps from the boy's dormitory. His friend gave him a small smile as he walked towards the couch next to his chair. "Your scar?"  
  
Harry nodded slightly and turned his gaze back to the fire. "He's coming Ron. He's coming to Hogwarts."  
  
"I know," his friend said softly. "But we'll fight him, and we'll win. We have to."  
  
Harry didn't say anything. What more was there to say? They had to win this war, there was no other way, nothing else he could let himself think. He couldn't lose any more than he already had.  
  
"So," Ron said conversationally, no doubt trying to keep Harry's mind off the pain in his scar. Unfortunately the tone in Ron's voice gave Harry an idea of what was coming, and Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say about that. "What's going on between you and my baby sister?"  
  
Harry could hear the teasing in his voice, but he refused to rise to it. "What do you mean?" he asked, hiding his smile. "We're friends."  
  
"Nothing more?"  
  
This time, Harry could hear something else in Ron's voice. Fear. He turned to face his friend, frowning. "What is it?"  
  
"Look, Harry, there's noone would love it more than me if you and Ginny fell in love. You're already a brother, but."  
  
"But?"  
  
"But if Ginny is your girlfriend, then that puts her in the firing line, and I don't want her there anymore than she already is."  
  
Harry froze, he hadn't though of that, and now that he had he knew that whatever wa between he and Ginny, he couldn't let anything happen. "I promise you, Ron, I wouldn't put Ginny anywhere near Voldemort. Anywhere."  
  
Ron cringed at Voldemort's name, but nodded. "I know that, I just had to make sure. I mean." Ron shifted. "I just, well, we haven't seen much of each other later, and I wasn't sure."  
  
"Ron, I didn't mean to leave you out, but, well.you any Hermione, and well." Ron turned pink, and Harry couldn't help smirking. Seven years on and they still couldn't talk about personal things without being nervous and embarrassed.  
  
"Well," Ron cleared his throat, "Hermione and I.well, we're just friends."  
  
"Hmm," Harry tried to control his laughter. IT was funny that Ron was denying there was anything there, it was even funnier that he didn't even seem to realise that there was more than friendship. He really was clueless, despite all his blushing and protestations that would normally imply the contrary.  
  
"Well," Ron said, clearing his throat again. "I should go back to bed." He stood up and turned to that stairs. "You should try to get some sleep too, Harry."  
  
"I will." Harry sighed and leaned back. "Just give me a minute." He heard Ron making his way up the stairs and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the pain that was slowly increasing.  
  
"Hard to believe he doesn't know, isn't it?"  
  
Harry sat up and turned slightly, seeing Ginny on the stairs to the girl's dorms. He smiled at her and she stood up, walking over to him and sat on his lap, curling up before Harry could even think to protest. He didn't want to protest. He knew that what Ron had said was true; he couldn't put Ginny in the firing line, no matter how much he wanted her. And he did want her. That was one thing he had come to realise while talking to Ron. He wanted Ginny. She was a part of him. And it killed him to know that he couldn't have her.  
  
Ginny sighed and he felt her breath tickling his throat. He gulped and shifted slightly, placing his hands on her arms and pulling her back from him. He looked into her eyes and smiled sadly. She was beautiful. Perhaps not in the conventional way that Parvati and Lavender were, but she was stunning in her own way. Her red curls framed her face and her beautiful brown eyes had flecks of silver-grey and black in them, and her lips had a natural pout that made Harry want to do nothing by kiss her senseless. And it killed him to know that he couldn't have her.  
  
Ginny smiled slightly and moved towards him, and it took all his willpower to stop her. But he had to. "Ginny, I.we can't-"  
  
"Harry." She placed a finger over his lips, but it was the shock the intimate touch sent through his skin that silenced him. "I heard you and Ron talking, most of it anyway. I know you want to protect me, Harry. I know that." She smiled. "I don't want to be You-Know-Who's target any more than you want me to be, and maybe that makes me a coward, but I don't care."  
  
"It doesn't make you a coward, Gin, it makes you like everyone else. Including me."  
  
"Look, Harry, I can't stop the future, I don't want to stop it. But I do want to fight for a good one. I want to fight by your side." Harry started to protest but she continued and he silenced. "Even if we're the only ones that know I'm there." They were silent for a moment; the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire and their breathing.  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry finally asked.  
  
"I mean, that even if we have to keep it a secret, even if you and I are the only ones that know it, I want to be there for you, Harry. I want to be yours."  
  
Harry smiled. "And I want to be yours," he said softly, in a voice that he didn't recognise.  
  
Ginny smiled brilliantly and Harry's grin widened. She leaned towards him, stopping mere millimetres from his lips. "This is just for us."  
  
"Just for us."  
  
Harry closed the gap between them and gently kissed her. They stayed like that for a moment, not really moving, before Harry started to kiss her in earnest. His hands tightened around her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry gently ran his tongue across her lips startling a small gasp from her. He smiled, taking advantage of her surprise and slipping his tongue into her mouth. Tentatively at first, she began to kiss him back, her tongue duelling with his, as she pushed him backward.  
  
Laughing, Harry fell back onto the couch, lying down and pulling her on top of him. "Vixen." She giggled and he smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears. He stared up at her, and she relaxed against him, her face hovering above his.  
  
Ginny leaned forward and kissed him gently, and when she pulled back, Harry followed her with his mouth. She laughed and finally he let her pull away. She stared him again for a short while and Harry felt fluttering in his stomach.  
  
"Just for us," she whispered.  
  
"Just for us."  
  
* * *  
  
"Look, Harry, lets be fair, you haven't ever seen a League game, you just don't know what you're missing, or you'd be on my side."  
  
"No! He knows how good the Cannons are, and he knows that-"  
  
"The Cannons are rubbish, Weasley! The Lancaster Lions are far superior, and they always have been. 1978 League final was between the Cannons and the Lions, and it was the shortest game in History. MacFarlane caught the snitch after ten minutes!"  
  
"And can I please take this moment to point out that MacFarlane was the Seeker for which Scottish team before that? And which Scottish team did her return to after one season?"  
  
James glared at his friend before laughing. He slapped a hand on Sirius' shoulder and shook his head. "Okay, my friend, fair play. The Robins are the best team in Scotland.but that's not saying much!"  
  
James frowned when he didn't get the expected response. Instead, Sirius cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm going to get some air," he said softly. "I'll be back soon." He quickly transformed into his dog form and padded out the room.  
  
There was a silence following his departure and Remus moved to follow him. Harry stood up and placed a hand on his old Professor's arm. "Let me go," he said with a pleading face.  
  
Remus smiled and nodded. Harry turned to his parents, and they smiled. Lily walked towards her husband as Ginny picked up the crystal, moving to Harry.  
  
"I won't be long, and then we can get back to work."  
  
They closed down the crystal and Harry looked at the spot his parents had been standing in. He hated to see them disappear; it was different than watching someone leave a room. When someone went out a doorway, they were just going elsewhere, when Harry closed the crystal, his parents didn't exist.  
  
He felt a hand on his arm and looked down at Ginny, smiling. "I'm okay." He handed her the crystal and she looked up at him, shock on her features. "Keep it safe. I won't be long."  
  
Ginny smiled and nodded and he quickly left the room, only stopping when he heard Remus' voice. He turned and waited for the man to catch up with him.  
  
"Harry, I think I know where Sirius is. Did he ever tell you about the room to the Seventh Kingdom?"  
  
Harry nodded and grinned, thinking of all the stories Sirius had told him and Ginny over the last few months. "I think I can find it. Thanks, Prof-" Harry stopped and shook his head. "Thanks, Remus."  
  
Remus winked at him and turned back as Harry made his way down the corridor. Sirius had told Harry and Ginny about the Gateway to the Seventh Kingdom not long after they had started visiting him, but they had never had the time to go looking for it. Which, Harry mused, was a shame. He couldn't imagine all the possibilities for pranks the mirror offered. Not to mention it would really make Snape think he was insane if they took up where the Marauders left off.  
  
He chuckled to himself and turned left at the portrait of Sir Frances Kingsly, a rather pompous Welsh knight that insisted in reciting his lineage to anyone who would listen. Harry didn't slow down. He reached a fork in the corridor, a strange and oddly shaped fork that Harry had never seen in a castle before and he knew that this was the place he had to remember the most. Sirius had said that one would lead to the right corridor and the other would lead him to the Sleepy Sideway; a corridor that would enchant you into sleeping for as long as your heart desired, only to be awoken by true love's kiss.or in the case of the Marauders, when Madame Pomfrey found them and had woken them up with a potion that tasted something like petrol.  
  
Harry frowned, both corridor's looked the same, and he couldn't remember, had Sirius said take the left corridor, or don't take the left corridor. After a few moments, Harry shrugged and went right. The left corridor smelled like the boys bathroom by the Great Hall, and if in doubt, follow your nose.  
  
He was walking for a few minutes, trying to make sure he was wide awake, and worrying that he wouldn't be for long, when he spotted what he was looking for. Harry smiled as he walked towards the large round mirror. It had a hand crafted wooden frame with dragons crafted into it and Harry searched to find the dragon with the red eyes.  
  
It turned out to be on the top left and Harry reached out with his wand, lightly touching the ruby in the centre, and muttered, "Aperire". There was a shimmer in the mirror as it took on a red sheen. Harry warily placed his hand on it, resisting the urge to squirm. The mirror was all, well, gooey. It was a strange feeling, but Harry had the feeling that this was where Sirius was, and he needed to speak to his Godfather, so he took a deep breath and entered the mirror.  
  
At first he couldn't see anything, but when his vision cleared, he was in a large corridor, ornately decorated and made of pure white marble. Harry reached put a hand to touch the smooth surface of the wall, and jumped back when he felt it shimmer.  
  
"You're tickling it."  
  
He swirled around and saw Sirius sitting on a marble throne like chair. There were four of them in a semi circle and mirrors, like the one Harry had entered through, surrounded them. Taking a step closer, Harry could see that the chair Sirius was sitting in had a dog carved on the top of either side of the chair's high back, as if they were perching on the ends. The other three had a wolf, a stag and a rat, and each of the seven mirrors had dragons with different coloured eyes.  
  
"That doesn't look very comfy," Harry said, attempting to start a conversation and hoping that Sirius would take him up on it.  
  
For a moment there was silence before Sirius smiled slightly. "Actually, they're comfier than the chairs in the Common Room. James put softening charms on them. He always was a little too enthusiastic with charms, them were so soft at first that Peter actually fell right into his."  
  
"I wish he'd stayed there," Harry said bitterly.  
  
Sirius sighed. "Whatever he became, Harry, he was a good man once."  
  
Harry looked at his Godfather incredulously. "I can't believe you just said that."  
  
"Neither can I." Sirius sighed again and indicated the chair to his right. Harry noted with trepidation that it was his fathers, the two stags bucking their heads back in welcome to him.  
  
After he was seated, Sirius continued. "Look, Har, I know we didn't spot that Peter was the traitor, I know that Remus and I didn't trust each other enough at that point to see that we were both innocent, but I'd like to think that for the most part, we're good judges of character. Peter was always one of the runts of the year, I guess, but he was a nice guy.  
  
I've spent a lot of time trying to work out when he went bad, what it was that made him turn on us and I think I finally have it." Sirius looked at Harry and sat up a little straighter. "During the holidays between our sixth and seventh year, Peter's sister, Angel, died. She was the only member of Peter's family that really had any faith in who he was. When she died, Peter had no one to believe in him, no one to care who he was."  
  
"Well, my parents died when I was one thanks to him, and I've never had anyone believing in me my whole life, and I'd never turn on my friends!" Harry said, furious that his Godfather was behaving like this.  
  
"Harry, I'm not justifying what he did, just trying to make sense of it." Harry was still angry, but he nodded and kept quiet. "Since the day it happened, Harry, I've been trying to figure out why we trusted him. How we could ever trust him with our lives. What did we miss? How could we not know he would betray us? But when I say your dad and mum again, when I saw the shock on their faces when they found out about Peter, I realised something.  
  
"We trusted him because he was trustworthy. There was a time, a long time, when he was a part of us, when he helped make us who we are. Because that's what your friends do, Harry, they help make you into the person you are.  
  
"You said that you didn't have anyone believing in you your whole life, but that's not true, Har, whether or not you knew it, the entire Wizarding world believed in you. Remus and I believed in you.and no matter whether they're still alive or not, your parents will always believe in you."  
  
Harry let Sirius sit with his thought for a moment before pursuing the matter that brought them here. "Sirius, I know that my parents believe in me. I know that now. But even if they weren't here to tell me that themselves, I'd still know they believed in me, because I'd have you and Remus to tell me it. That's the kind of people they are, Sirius, and I'm glad I have them with me. But I'm not the only person they believe in."  
  
"Harry, I-"  
  
"Let me finish, Sirius," Harry said with a smirk. "If we're going to make this the day that the people who don't normally say a lot talk the ears off each other, give me a chance as well." Sirius smiled at him and he continued. "Look, Sirius, I might not know you and Remus as well as I'd like, and I might not know my parents as well as I'd like, but I know enough to know that they love you and they trust you.and they forgive you. Because there's nothing to forgive.  
  
"It wasn't your fault, Sirius, nothing that happened was your fault, not on that day and not since. You have done all that you possibly can to help me and to help the war effort, and there's nothing to blame yourself for."  
  
"What about not being there for you? What about not being there for James when he needed me?" Sirius said softly, but Harry heard every word.  
  
"You were there for me, and you will always be there for me. And I really don't think my dad blames you for anything."  
  
"That's only because he can't remember, Harry. He and Lily hadn't used the crystal after we changed places. I couldn't tell that Peter was going to deceive us, Harry! He got your parents killed and I did even notice he was plotting it!"  
  
"My dad trusted Peter as well, do you blame him for getting murdered?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
The words hung in the air for a moment as Harry looked at him in shock. Sirius was looking at him, eyes ablaze with anger and hatred and it was almost enough to scare Harry into believing what Sirius might be capable of if that anger were ever let loose on anyone.  
  
"Yes, I blame him for it! I blame him for dying, I blame him for leaving, I blame him for making himself a target in the first place by being so bloody brave and heroic and being determined to take Voldemort down himself! I blame him for putting you and Lily on the line, I blame him for putting himself on the line and, yes, I blame him for dying! I blame him for leaving me all alone to rot in Azkaban for ten years! I blame him for the fact that I have to spend the rest of my life on the run! But most of all I blame him for trusting me as a friend! For trusting me enough to get him killed!"  
  
Harry didn't say anything, he didn't know what he could say. Sirius had lived a life that he couldn't even begin to understand, and he didn't know how to respond to that kind of aching loss. Sirius had lost everyone, not just a friend of sorts, not just his parents, not just people he didn't know, but everyone he loved and trusted.  
  
"I'm sorry, Harry."  
  
Harry looked up at him, and where his eyes had previously held anger, they now held an aching loss that almost had Harry drowning in its intensity.  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"No, it's not. You didn't need to hear that. You shouldn't have to deal with the guilt of an old man."  
  
Harry laughed. "You're not old."  
  
Sirius smiled wryly. "Okay, so not old, but kind of saggy round the edges. I thought young men were supposed to think their parents and their parents' friends were old."  
  
"Seeing that mum and dad had me when they were a year older than I am now, I don't think it's possible for me to consider you old."  
  
"True." Sirius laughed, but Harry could see the pain that was in his eyes, still. He doubted that would ever go away.  
  
"Sirius, you should talk to him."  
  
Sirius sighed. "I know, I will."  
  
There was a silence, but this time, it wasn't strained. "Why you?" Harry finally asked. "Why did Peter choose you to blame it on?"  
  
At this, Sirius actually smiled. "Oh, well, that's easy."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "What was her name?"  
  
"Helen Margaret Farmer," Sirius said with a roguish grin. "Ravenclaw in our year. I think Peter had always had a crush on her, but he didn't stand a chance, and, well, I did."  
  
Harry laughed at the twinkle he saw in Sirius' eyes. "You're hopeless."  
  
"No, just irresistible."  
  
Harry snorted and shook his head. "Sure, Sirius, whatever you say."  
  
"Hey!" Sirius puffed put his chest. "I'm a woman magnet and don't you forget it."  
  
"I don't see how he could forget it, Sirius, when you remind everyone at every opportunity." They turned to see Remus, Ginny, Ron and Hermione in the corridor Harry had arrived in. "We thought you could use a hand convincing this sod to come back and research," Remus said with a smirk. "He always was a lazy git whenever work was involved."  
  
"I resent that Remus Lupin!"  
  
"Only because it's the truth, Padfoot."  
  
Sirius glared, or rather tried to, but he was too busy smiling. "Just because I always had more important ways to spend my time."  
  
"Snogging in the Astronomy Tower really doesn't count as important, Sir."  
  
Harry started when he heard his father's voice. He looked at Ginny who grinned. She had moved to stand behind the chair he was in, and had placed the stone in a small alcove that Harry could only see the top of. He hadn't noticed it before, but he hadn't really been looking.  
  
"The chair activated it if the people we love are nearby," Lily said with a smile, moving towards her son. "We thought Sirius and Remus might need to open it before you were old enough to fall in.I mean, before you were old enough," she amended with an apologetic smile, as Harry and Ginny blushed.  
  
"Wow!" All eyes turned to Ron as he walked toward the mirror to Harry's far left. "I can see into the Ravenclaw Common Room!"  
  
"That's nothing to what you can do with these babies!" Sirius said, his eyes twinkling.  
  
"Sirius," Lily said warningly as James moved to Sirius' chair, no doubt about to aid Sirius with whatever story he was about to share. "Not now, these kids have enough to worry about without Severus giving them detention as well."  
  
"Severus!" Harry said with horror. "Mum, did you just call Snape, Severus?"  
  
"Harry, we ignore the fact that your mother is insane, Harry," James said with a mock shudder.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said with a frown, trying to hide that he was really smiling at her. "Your mother is under the delusion that the greasy git is actually a nice person."  
  
"Snape?" Ron asked, almost choking on the name.  
  
"Severus is a very nice man, he's just a little grumpy!"  
  
"Whatever you say, mum," Harry said, trying to ignore that the world must be coming to an end, because he could have sworn that his mother had just said that Snape, sorry Severus, was a very nice man.  
  
"You're only saying that because he believed in all that crap you spouted in divination."  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Snape believe in divination?" Hermione asked incredulously.  
  
Remus snorted as James and Sirius laughed. "Hermione," Remus said with a smile, "I think Snape would have believed that the world was flat if Lily told him it was."  
  
"Remus!" Lily said sternly, but with a smile. "I can't believe you, or all people, said that!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Lily, but it's true," Remus said with a smile and Lily eventually smiled, shaking her head.  
  
"Okay, enough chit chat, lets get back to the room and get some work done." Lily nodded towards the mirrors. "Will any of them get us into our rooms?"  
  
Remus nodded. "I took the one from the passageway behind the statue of Agnes Waterlily. It's been blocked up for years now anyway." He walked towards the centre mirror and took out his wand, tapping it against the dragon's eye and muttering, "Aperire".  
  
Harry watched as Ron and Hermione followed Remus through the mirror, before looking up at his mum. He smiled at him and hugged him, kissing his forehead. "I'm very proud of you, Harry."  
  
"Why?" Harry choked out.  
  
She smiled at him and inclined her head. Harry followed her gaze and smiled as he saw Sirius and his father hugging. Harry smiled at his dad, who grinned back and mouthed, "Thank you", before saying something to Sirius that sounded like, "It wasn't your fault, Sir. There's nothing to forgive".  
  
Ginny had moved to sit at his other side and she smiled at him. Harry knew she was proud of him, just like his mum and dad were, and it made him feel.well, happy. It was nice to know for sure that people loved him, and he couldn't help but smile like a fool.  
  
"Harry, Ginny." They both looked up at Lily, who smiled. "I just want you to know, whatever happens, that we're all so proud of you. You have so much resting on your shoulders, more than any of us have the right to ask of you." Lily reached out a hand to ruffle Harry's hair. Her eyes filled with tears and she took a deep breath. "I knew from the minute I predicted your birth that you would be wonderful."  
  
"Predicted?" Harry asked, overcoming the lump in his throat.  
  
Lily smiled, but she seemed unable to continue. James walked round the chair and wrapped his arms around her, as Sirius placed his hands on Ginny's shoulder, smiling at her and Harry.  
  
"Your mother saw you in her divination class when she was sixteen."  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said with a smirk. "Your face appeared at the bottom of her tea cup."  
  
"Sirius! I'm serious!" Lily said as Sirius rolled his eyes. "And it wasn't a tea cup, it was a crystal ball."  
  
"She didn't tell me you looked like me until after I'd proposed, of course," James said with a smile. "Something about messing with the future."  
  
"Well, she right," Ginny said. "Divination is all well and good, but you can only see the possible outcomes, nothing's written in stone."  
  
"I knew I'd like you, Ginny." Lily grinned.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"When were you born, Ginny?"  
  
James and Sirius rolled their eyes, and James squeezed his wife tighter. "Honey, don't be silly. I mean, we all know you saw Harry because he looked like me, but this doesn't mean-"  
  
"James, let her answer."  
  
"I.I was born the day you died." Ginny said softly.  
  
James and Sirius looked at each other, wide-eyed, as Lily smiled. "I thought so."  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"I can't say anything more, Ginny, what you just said about the future." Lily smiled. "But you're both destined for great things. Don't be afraid to live, even when you think there's nothing to live for. You'll always have each other."  
  
* * *  
  
End of Part Six  
  
Okay, so it was definitely a long one! But I didn't want to make any more parts than I'd previously specified. There are still two more parts to go and I won't do them before Christmas, as the next one is a tearjerker, and  
I won't cry before Christmas!  
  
Are you curious about The Seventh Kingdom? Want to know what the Marauders  
used to do to Snape? Look out for the Marauder Outtake "The Seventh  
Kingdom" coming soon! :)  
  
There's one more part set in the past and then the final part is back to  
the timeline of part one.  
  
Always remember that feedback is appreciated :) 


	7. Part 7: To Sacrifice All

**All Good Things**

**Part 7: To Sacrifice All**

~x~x~x~x~x~

This part is set in Harry's final year at Hogwarts, Ginny's second last year.

~x~x~x~x~x~

**Notes:** Okay, the Lord of the Rings Reference, which **no one** guessed was "If in doubt, follow your nose". I say reference rather than quote, because I couldn't be bothered to get off my butt and get the book for a direct quote at the time! It's slightly paraphrased, I think. A few people guessed the Seventh Kingdom, but I guess I missed that bit in LOTR ;) That's pretty much my own doing, although Heliona pointed out that it's very reminiscent of The Tenth Kingdom and she's right. Guess the idea wasn't as original as I'd thought.

A huge thanks to SnakeEyesHannah for her review. You can thank her for me getting my butt in gear and delivering this chapter :)

No, I have no fixation with the word 'butt', I just happened to use it twice there. Yes, am in a very strange mood, but writing this chapter in a normal mood would be difficult as I'd be Crying already!

I'm sorry this took so long to deliver, I had intended to get it to you for the new year, sometime in Jan, at the latest…yeah, that never really happened, did it? ;) 

~x~x~x~x~x~

Ginny rubbed at her eyes and looked blearily around the room. There was nothing that should have awoken her, but, at the same time, she knew she had woken up for a reason. She couldn't explain the sense of urgency that compelled her to get out of bed and put on her nightgown. 

She made her way down the stairs and into the Common Room, looking around for a moment, as if trying to get her bearings. She had been in the room countless times since starting Hogwarts, but there was just something different about it, something that made her feel as though it was the first time she had ever set foot in it.

Feeling fear grip at her heart, she started moving again, suddenly running up the boys stairwell and into Harry and Ron's room. She heard someone muttering and instantly knew it was Harry. She pulled back the curtains around his bed and crawled up to sit beside him, placing a hand on his forehead.

He was squirming in his sleep, as if he was having a bad dream and, after spending the last few months with him and being in his head, she knew that was the likeliest explaination. She had come to him in the middle of the night before, waking him from the dreams that she was beginning to share. But this was different. That night she was not sharing the same feelings as she had before. 

Not knowing what was driving her to do it, she placed a finger over his scar, gently tracing the outline. Harry gasped and shot up, his eyes wide, sending her sprawling backwards. He took a few moments to calm down and steady his breathing. In this time, Ginny sat up again, her hands shaking.

"Ginny?" 

"I-I don't know why I did it, I just…" she trailed off. Harry was staring at her with concern. He was beginning to fade from her vision. He looked as though he was in a tunnel, a black tunnel. He was the light at the end of the tunnel, but he was moving further away until all she knew was blackness.

* * *

It was dark. Everything was dark. She could feel the wind on her face. She could smell the sea salt in the air and she smiled. But it was still dark.

_Open your eyes, Virgina._

She realised that the voice was right. Her eyes were closed. She opened them and blinked a few times as the sunlight pierced her eyes. After a few moments, she could see clearly and her smile widened. 

She stood on a beach. It was a summer's day and the world seemed bright and happy, but the beach was practically empty, as though it were private and only certain people were allowed to be there. She hoped that she was one of those people because she did not want to leave.

She heard voices behind her and turned. She frowned, confused at what she was seeing. About a hundred metres down the beach she saw herself. The other Ginny was laughing and splashing in the waves, chasing a small child with ginger curls. On the beach, watching the other Ginny with the little boy, stood a man that could only have been Harry. In his arms he carried another child, slightly older than the boy. The little girl had dark hair, the same colour as her father and she seemed happier watching the fun than joining it.

Ginny took a few steps towards them. She wanted to be there, she wanted to be in the water with her son. James Sirius Potter. That was his name. He was three years old. He had been born in the backstage bleachers of the Lancaster Lions final match of the season, while his father caught the snitch and raced to her side without even letting it go. Jamie wanted to be a Quidditch player, just like his father.

She glanced at the young girl in Harry's arms. A moment later she smiled. Lily Ashling Potter. She was six and had, thankfully, been born in the hospital, despite Ginny's mother's protestations that home birthing was perfectly safe. She loved to read and write and she wanted to be a Potions' Mistress when she grew up.

Ginny smiled and began walking towards them in earnest. But the more she moved towards them, the further away they were. She began to run, tears beginning to fall as she felt her children being taken away from her. She needed to reach them, she had to be with them.

Ginny stopped running and fell to her knees grasping for air. The beach was empty and the sky had grown dark and cloudy. She was alone and her family was gone. 

"You are never alone, Virgina. Always remember that."

Ginny whirled around and her eyes widened. She stood up, wiping her cheeks as she did. Nothing seemed to make sense. Everything was jumbled and she couldn't remember where she was supposed to be.

"Lily, am I lost?" Harry's mother smiled and stepped closer to her, reaching out her arms. Ginny allowed herself to be pulled into a hug and she relaxed into the woman's embrace. "You watch over him, don't you?" she asked, pulling back.

"Always," Lily said with a smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind Ginny's ear. "Ginny, things are in motion that cannot be prevented. You cannot stop the future, but you can weather it as best you can."

"I don't understand," Ginny said with a frown. "If I can't stop it, why are you telling me?"

"Because the events of tomorrow night are something that Harry will forever have live with. They will haunt him until he is a hollow shell and has nothing left within him to love with or to be loved in return."

"But, I just saw…I mean, wasn't that the future? With Jamie and Ash?"

"I believe a very wise woman once said," Lily answered with a twinkle in her eye, "that 'you can only see possible outcomes, nothing is written in stone.'"

Ginny laughed. "And an even wiser woman said, 'You're both destined for great things. Don't be afraid to live, even when you think there's nothing to live for. You'll always have each other.' Is that what you came to tell me?"

"Not quite." Lily's expression changed. "I'm treading on dangerous ground here, Ginny. The waking world should only be warned when things are dangerously close to chaos. Ginny, the people we love have the chance to be rid of Voldemort forever, but only if they can let go." 

Ginny was momentarily startled to find that she was not afraid to hear Lily speak You Know Who's name. She knew that Sirius purposefully avoided saying it for her sake. It took her a moment to catch up with what the older woman was saying. "You do not fear him here, Ginny, because here you have nothing to fear. Try to take that feeling back with you, it will help."

"I don't think I understand what you're telling me, Lily."

Harry's mother smiled. "I know, but you will when the time comes. Ginny, you have to make Harry understand that he will always have you. Harry has to know that you will be there for him or tomorrow he will die."

Ginny felt her heart breaking at the thought and she nodded. "He will know."

"You cannot blame yourself for his decisions either, Ginny, never blame yourself." Lily cut her off before she could interrupt. "I know you don't understand, but everything will become clear. There are choices to be made by everyone, even you, Virginia. Follow your heart and help Harry follow his."

"And I ask that you help Sirius if you can."

Ginny turned to her left to see James Potter approaching them. She frowned and tried to keep her composure. "Why would Sirius need my help?"

James smiled sadly. "Because he may need to make a decision that Harry won't."

"We don't have a lot of time left, Ginny," Lily said, stroking her hair. "But I want you to know that we are very proud of you."

"Of me?"

"Yes!" Lily laughed. "Of you. You are what Harry needs in his life. You have enough passion and love in your heart to give him everything he needs in his life, just as he has the devotion and love in his that you need."

"I do love him," Ginny said softly. It was the first time she had ever spoken the words and it felt odd knowing that the first time she had said them had been to Harry's parents and not to Harry himself.

"He knows," James said with a smirk and Ginny blushed. "God, I love being all knowing." Lily swatted his arm and Ginny laughed. This was Lily and James the way she knew them through the crystal and seeing it and knowing they were really Harry's parents made her wish she could have brought him with her.

"We wish he could be here too, Gin," James said. 

"We couldn't show ourselves to Harry. Not tonight. Not when he has decisions to make tomorrow that have the fate of the Wizarding World resting on them."

"I understand. I think."

Lily smiled and hugged her again. "Keep your strength, Ginny. Keep it safe. And, not matter what happens; do not let _him_ break you."

"What?" Ginny shook her head. "What do you mean?"

There was a crash of lightning and Ginny shrieked as the sky grew darker. She turned to Lily and James only to find that the space they had been occupying was empty. Her eyes widened and she turned in circles, trying to see them.

"Lily! James!"

"They're gone, Ginny. Everyone's gone."

She turned around and found herself facing Harry. But this Harry was not her own Harry. He was older. His hair was cropped short, as if it had been shorn deep into his skin in a manner that could only have been painful. His eyes seemed darker, wiser and filled with more heartache that she had ever seen in any living being. He may have looked like her Harry but he was hollow.

She stared at him for a moment and found herself living through memories that she had never had. Standing in a corner with Harry watching her as she shielded someone from view. Sirius getting in her way. Remus dying at the hands of Draco Malfoy. Dumbledore dying to protect Harry. Harry finally defeating Voldemort, but not after losing so many more. The names came with visions of gory deaths. Ron, Hermione, McGonagall, Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, george, Seamus, Lavender, her mother…her. They were all dead. 

Ginny felt her heart tighten and her breathing grow shallow. Everyone was gone. She was gone. Harry was truly alone.

"Ginny, you have to stay strong." The voice had come from behind her and she turned to find herself looking at Harry again. She glanced back around, but the other Harry was gone, only empty beach lay behind her. She turned back to the Harry that had just appeared and noted that he also looked older. However, this Harry was different to the one she had just seen. His hair had grown slightly and framed his face more and, although it still hung in an unruly mess, Ginny loved it. His eyes were bright and shining with love and admiration. She had no doubt he had seen horrors in his life, but he seemed to be at peace with himself. He was the Harry she had seen on the beach earlier, before meeting Harry's parents. 

As if to prove that fact, the two children appeared at either side of him, holding his hands and smiling up at her. They were hers; her children; hers and Harry's. She grinned as she remembered Ashling's first steps. Jamie's first words. Her family's support when they lost their third child, Charlotte. Ash's first birthday. Jamie's first broom. Harry's eyes the first time they made love. Harry's strength for her when she lost another brother. Harry's uncertainty when he proposed. Harry's joy when she called him an idiot and accepted. Things weren't always happy, but they had each other, just as Lily had said.

"I love you," Jamie said with a grin and Ginny smiled back, tears falling from her eyes.

"Be strong, mummy," Ashling said. "Don't let the bad man stop you."

"I won't, Ash. I promise."

"Ginny, don't let him win," Harry said as the rain began to fall. "Don't let him take this away from us." 

The lightning flashed and Ginny gasped in horror as the three faces before her changed. Harry's scar had grown to cover his entire face. Ashling and Jamie had the same scar. Their eyes were missing and the hollowed out space they had occupied was glowing green. They advanced and Ginny screamed, closing her eyes and covering her ears as Ashling's words rang out around her.

"Don't let the bad man stop you!"

* * *

Ginny knew she was still screaming and only acutely became aware that she could no longer hear the sea. In the background, Ash's words seemed to echo, but were soon overcome by the mumblings of concern.

She could feel a strong grip around her arms and she struggled against it, Harry's disfigured face all too prominent in her thoughts. She grasped for air, her scream still reverberating through the room. 

"Ginny! It's all right, it's me. It's Harry."

Tentatively, she opened her eyes, his calm voice having broken through the visions still flooding before her eyes. Her breath shuddered as his face focused. He was her Harry. She glanced at his scar, glad to see that it was back in its rightful place.

She could sense that people were surrounding her, but all she could see was Harry. He was still there and she needed to make sure it stayed that way. She would not allow him to become the hollow shell from her dream. Whilst their life with Ashling and Jamie had not been perfect, it had been as close to perfect as life ever got and Ginny made a vow to herself there and then. Out of the two futures she had seen, she would made sure that theirs ended as close to the one with Ashling and Jamie as it could.

"Ginny, are you all right."

She focussed on him again and smiled. "Have you ever thought of growing your hair?" she asked, and then promptly blacked out.

~x~x~x~x~x~

Ginny groaned as she felt herself waking up. It wasn't that she had been having a particularly pleasant dream, in fact, she wasn't sure she had been dreaming at all, it was more that she had the nagging suspicion that if she woke up, she'd want to be asleep again.

Her conscious decision to will herself back to sleep, however, failed to work and she soon found herself squinting against the harsh daylight that was surrounding her. She blinked a few times and found that she expected to be on a beach, but, when her vision cleared, she found that she was in the Hospital Wing. 

"Gin, you're awake."

"Astute observation, Harry," she grumbled, ignoring his chuckle. "Water," she said softly and soon found a glass being held above her. Reached for it, but it was pulled away from her. She glared at him, but he simply smiled. 

"I'll help you sit up and then we can debate about whether or not you have the strength to hold it."

"It's a glass of water, Harry, not a bloody brick."

"My, aren't we in a pissy mood this morning," he said with a smile and Ginny pouted. 

She sighed. "Okay. Help me up."

Harry used his free hand to help her into a sitting position before settling on the bed, facing her. After a few moments of teasing, he handed her the glass and she drank greedily, despite his protestations that she sip the water.

"I needed that," she said after finishing the glass. She placed the empty glass on her bedside cabinet and glanced around. She noted that Hermione and Ron were curled up together on one of the chairs by her bed. They were fast asleep and Ginny smiled. She still found it hard to believe that they weren't a couple yet.

"I was so worried."

She turned to face him and smiled. Harry still found it difficult to talk about his feelings and Ginny appreciated that it must have taken a lot for him to say that to her. She smiled and shuffled over, reaching out a hand to him. When he frowned at her, she patted the bed beside her and he grinned, moving to sit by her.

After a glance at Ron and Hermione to make sure they were asleep, and a quick look at the portraits to make sure they were empty, Harry captured her lips in an intense kiss. They pulled back and rested their foreheads together. They stayed like that for a while and, as she stared into his eyes, the memories or her dream came flooding back to her.

"Harry, I-" She paused. She had no idea where to begin and she didn't think that telling everything would help him. There was only one thing she had to make clear. "Harry, I will always be here for you. I'm yours."

He smiled and Ginny could have died happy if her whole world had consisted of nothing but that smile. "And I'm yours." He kissed her again and it took all her willpower to pull back. 

"We can't get caught."

"I know," he said softly. "I should wake up the others."

"Yes," she agreed. "I just need you to know, Harry. I need you to know that I'll always be by your side. Even if you're the only one that knows I'm there."

He stood up and backed away from the bed. "I know. Ginny, I lo-"

"Ginny!"

They both jumped as the door swung open. Sirius entered, closely followed by Remus. Professor Dumbledore entered a few moments later. Sirius and Remus both gave her a hug before she fond herself in Ron's arms. The noise Sirius had made on entering had woken up Ron and Hermione. In fact, Ginny was surprised he hadn't woken the dead. 

"Nice to see you're taking care that no one sees you here, Padfoot," she said in the perfect imitation of Lily Potter. She grinned at the look of shock on Sirius' face. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before shaking his head.

"I'm going to kill her for teaching you that."

"For teaching me what?" she asked innocently. 

"That tone of voice. The one that makes you feel as though you're three feet high and preparing to receive a spanking from your mother for being a naughty boy. That woman used words as weapons." Sirius shuddered, but she could see the fondness and playfulness in his gaze.

"Well, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said, breaking the short silence. "It seems you gave a few people quite the shock last night. We shall brush aside the fact that you were in the wrong dormitory," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

She felt a blush rising in her cheeks and cleared her throat. "Harry was having a nightmare."

"And you heard it from your dorm?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"No," she said hotly. "I heard it in my head." Sirius nodded his head, but she could see that he still found the situation amusing.

"As I said, Miss Weasley, we shall brush that matter aside for the moment. I am curious, however, as to what happened after you arrived there."

Ginny took a deep breath and glanced around the room. She took in each of the faces before her and realised that there were two people missing. Two people that should be there.

"Harry, the crystal." Wordlessly, Harry took the crystal from his pocket and held it out to her. Their hands connected over it and a moment later, Lily and James appeared. 

Part of her half expected Lily and James to remember the dream, or vision, she had had, but she knew that was impossible. The couple before her, however real they were, were not the Lily and James that had died to save their son. They were not the Lily and James that had come to her in her mind and asked her to help their son face whatever dangers lay ahead. What they were about to hear was as much news to them as it was to the rest of the room.

Ginny took one last look around the room before focussing on Harry. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to feel the strength that her 'children' had known she possessed. The strength that Lily and James Potter knew lay within her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked up at Dumbledore. 

"Voldemort will attack Hogwarts tonight."

~x~x~x~x~x~

Ginny spent the morning explaining what she could, omitting the identity of the people who had told her and the possible futures she had seen. If anyone had doubted her they did not show it and, while it was clear that they were all curious about the other things she had seen and who had told her what she knew, they questioned nothing.

Ginny was subjected to various spells and potions by Madame Pomfrey, but was eventually allowed to leave the confines of the Hospital Wing, under Madame Pomfrey's protest. The truth was that they needed Harry's parents to continue with their research and, they needed Ginny in order to open the crystal.

After lunch, they began to get restless, unsure of when Voldemort would attack. Lily had told her it would be at night, but they had no time frame other than that and no one wanted to take any chances. Dumbledore had alerted people within the Ministry that he felt he could trust and had enlisted the help of all of Ginny's brothers and various other people that Ginny had never met, including a rather striking young Auror that kept changing her hair colour. Remus, if she recalled, had seemed to have a particular interest in her.

"I need a break."

Ginny was startled from her reverie as Harry stood up, stretching. She smiled and leaned back into the couch. "Hmmm, hot chocolate would be nice."

There was laughter from various people as Remus also stood up. "I think that's our cue to get some refreshments, Harry."

Ginny grinned. "Yes, slaves, that would be wonderful." She squealed as she was pelted by pillows from a few different directions. 

"You coming, Ron?" Harry asked as he made his way to the door.

"Sure."

"You'll be all right if I go to the kitchens?" Harry asked his parents.

"I think they're close enough that Ginny should be able to keep us here on her own," Lily said, looking up from her notes. 

Harry nodded and soon Ginny found herself alone with Sirius and Harry's parents. Everyone had been hungry and the room, no matter it's size had been enough to drive everyone a little stir crazy, Ginny's reasons for staying added to that fact were enough to make her want to run screaming from the room.

"You've figured it out, haven't you?"

The quiet voice startled her and Ginny looked at Lily in shock. She took a moment before nodding, willing herself not to cry. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't, Virginia, and you know it." 

  
The use of her full name startled her. The real Lily, the Lily from her vision had used her full name. It was almost as if Harry's mother were trying to reach her again through the image she had left behind.

"Harry can't do it," she said and glanced at Sirius. "It would kill him."

The elder man seemed to have aged a hundred years since the last time she had looked. He had seemed so jovial that morning in the Hospital Wing that Ginny had chosen to believe it, had chosen not to look into his eyes to that bleak, hollowness she had seen in a vision of an older Harry. 

"This was what he meant. This was why he wanted me to help you." Ginny crossed the room and kneeled in front of Sirius.

"Who said it, Gin," he asked, almost pleading with her. "Who told you it had to be me?"

"James did." Ginny burst into tears, crawling onto Sirius' lap. He held her tightly and she felt the shoulder of her blouse grow damp. He was sobbing just as hard as she was and she couldn't stop. She was supposed to be strong for him and she had broken down at the very thought of the task that lay ahead of him.

"They're coming back."

"I know," she said with a hiccough. "I can feel Harry getting closer." She pulled away from Sirius and was surprised to see him so calm. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Ginny. You gave me the strength I needed."

"What, by bursting into tears?" she asked, sarcastically.

He laughed and swiped at his cheeks. "No, by letting me know that James forgives me. For letting me know that he trusts me to protect Harry by doing it." Ginny nodded and he smiled at her. "Although," he said with a smirk, "the crying helped." She smacked his arm and he pulled back quickly. "Abuse! Abuse!"

She laughed softly, willing herself to forget the conclusion she had reached in her research. "Seriously, Sirius-"

"Did she put you up to that?" Sirius asked, pointing at Lily with mock accusation. "She knows I hate it when people say that."

"What?" Ginny asked with a grin. "Seriously, Sirius? Or Siriusly Serious?"

Sirius grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap again, tickling her mercilessly. She continued to scream as the door was thrown open, Harry, Ron and Hermione at the front of a long line of people who all had their wands drawn.

"Help! Help!"

Harry lowered his wand first and began to chuckle at the scenario. Soon, Ron and Hermione joined him as they all filtered into the room. Eventually Sirius let her go and she squealed and ran back to the safety of her own chair.

"Finished making a spectacle of yourself?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I hope you didn't drop my hot chocolate what with the rush to save me and all." Ginny replied, ignoring his question. Harry looked at her guiltily and she was about to say something when he broke into a grin and produced a steaming hot mug.

"Yum," she grabbed at it and began to sip it. 

"As if I would drop chocolate for anyone." She threw a pillow at him as the others laughed. Harry winked at her and she shook her head. "So why all the effort, Sirius," he asked, turning to his Godfather. "Why didn't you just cast a tickling charm."

"Where's the fun in that?" James interrupted, receiving a glare from both Lily and Ginny.

Sirius laughed. "Absolutely. Although, use your brain, Har, I don't have a wand, remember."

Harry smiled. "Yes, you do."

"What?"

Harry stood up and reached into the bag he had left by the table. He pulled out a box and crossed the room, handing it to Sirius. The elder man opened the box tentatively, gasping as he was surrounded by a bright light.

"It's perfect," he said softly. "How did you manage to pick the right one?"

"You can thank Ginny for that," Harry said and she grinned at the two of them. 

"We went to the Olivander's outlet at our last Hogsmeade weekend. Lily told me what your old wand was and, taking the main points in your life since you got your wand, I was able to choose what I thought would work."

"Good guess, Nostrodamus," Hermione muttered.

"Thank you." Sirius waved his wand and the room was filled with balloons, and judging by the way they were swishing, Ginny didn't want to know what was in them. 

"Sirius, don't even think about it," Remus warned, looking at the balloons in alarm. He clearly knew what was in them and it looked as though he didn't want them to pop either.

"It's all in fun, Moony," he said with a mischievous smirk. He waved his wand and there was an almighty popping as every balloon in the room burst, covering them all in what appeared to be pink custard, with little lumps that looked suspiciously like green jelly.

"Ugh! Sirius!" Hermione stood up, looking at her robes in horror.

Ginny couldn't help herself. She laughed. She was clutching her sides and coughing before she realised that everyone else seemed to have joined her. That was what they needed, she realised. They needed to have their minds free from worry about Voldemort and the war and everything else that went with it. Because when the day drew to a close, all they would know was the darkness that would consume them all.

~x~x~x~x~x~

The castle was filled with an eerie silence as the day drew to its conclusion. There was a heavy threat hanging in the air as the shadows danced precariously close to where she sat, huddled in the corner. 

Things had not gone according to plan and Ginny knew that they were about to get worse. Fearing that there could be spies within Hogwarts, the teachers had chosen not to evacuate the students until there was no time to spare, however, the first attack had come too soon and there was nothing to stop the battle from beginning. 

One of the girls behind her was sobbing uncontrollably, and Ginny wished there was more she could do for her. The silencing spell she had cast over the first years did nothing to stop her heart from beating so loudly that she was sure it could be heard echoing through the entire castle. She signalled for them to follow her again, sure that the corridor was clear of any fighting. 

She was angry beyond all belief that the first years trailing behind her had not been evacuated with the first lot of students. It was as though the fact that they were Slytherins meant that they had no right to live; as though they did not have the same right to avoid the horrors of war that their class mates did.

She had known nothing of the evacuation plans, but had left everything to the teachers, as she had been instructed. She had been told that she was to 'sit this one out' as Charlie had put it. She knew that he was only trying to protect her, but it still irritated her. Ron was allowed to be there, as was Hermione, because he was Harry's best friend, but little Ginny had to hide. 

Luckily, the fact that she had the crystal meant she would not be sticking to the plans that had been laid out for her. Sirius and James had wanted to keep her out of it, but Lily had pointed out that she was the only one that could help. Sirius had no way of making the crystal work, but he was the one that needed to use it. He needed her.

She had been in the Seventh Kingdom, where she was meant to be. It was being used as a headquarters of sorts, the mirrors being used to keep track of the Death Eater activity within the building. With the full moon approaching, Remus could be of no assistance to the battle, much to his chagrin, so he was to be in charge behind the scenes, with Ginny as his second. She had not liked sneaking out on Remus, but it had been her only option, slipping through the mirror to the dungeons as planned.

It was there that she had seen something she had never expected; Draco Malfoy leading a group of frightened first years through the corridors. She was sure she had stood staring at him for a full five minutes before his voice shook her out of her stupor and she ducked as he had commanded.

He had knocked out the Death Eater that had turned the corner behind her, before approaching her and helping her to her feet. She hadn't known what to say to him about what had just happened so she had settled on asking about the first years.

"Oh, Slytherins are expendable, didn't you know," he had sneered.

"They can't have just been left here."

"Well, clearly they were." He had stared at her for a few moments, the sounds of the battle from the upper floors of the castle echoing down to them. "Will you get them to safety?"

"I have somewhere I need to go," she had said and Draco's eyes had instantly narrowed. "But," she had continued, "they'll be a lot safer with me than alone or where you're going."

He had looked startled that she had guessed he was heading into battle and not running off like the coward she had always assumed him to be. He had nodded and walked away, leaving her with the first years.

"Draco," she had called after him, his name sounding foreign on her lips. "Be careful."

"You don't know what side I'm fighting for, Weasley."

She had smiled. "No, but I can hope."

She glanced back at the first years once more, hoping that she had been right and that Draco was fighting for Hogwarts. She felt the heavy weight of the crystal in her pocket and remembered what she had to do. She had to find Sirius. 

Dumbledore had planned to keep the fighting away from the Great Hall until the final showdown, so that was her destination. Sirius had told her that they were evacuating the pupils out through a secret passage behind the High Table and the plan was for her to activate the crystal (something she had never done on her own before, but, according to Lily, was possible), give it to Sirius and leave through the passage way. She was to hide just behind the door in order to supply her strength to keeping it open, until Voldemort and Harry got there.

She moved quickly down the corridor, making sure the first years were all still with her. She turned her head again, making sure that nothing had appeared in front of her. She saw a few bodies littering the floor, but tried to make sure that she looked at none of the faces. She did not want to know which of her classmates…or brothers might be lying there.

They made quick progress and soon Ginny found herself in the Great Hall. All the tables had been moved aside and the room seemed bare without them. The only thing in the room was the High Table and Ginny ushered the first years towards it, forcing them to run. There were noises coming from the door she had just closed behind them and she did not want to think what could be coming. The door behind the High Table banged open and she couldn't hold back a squeal of surprise. 

"Sirius!" she gasped, relief flooding through her. 

  
"We need to open it now, Ginny," he yelled, running towards her. The children in front of her began to scream in silence, all of them recognising Sirius Black for the murderer the Ministry had condemned him for being. They ran into the far corner, but made no move to go any further. Content that they would stay where they were, Ginny pulled out the crystal and held it in her hands, trying to block out the noises around her.

She forced herself to concentrate. She could feel the crystal vibrating, but nothing was happening. The world was coming to an end as she knew it and she couldn't get the one thing that might save them all to work. Tears began to stream down her face and she could feel blood trickling from her nose.

"It's not working!" She resisted the urge to throw the crystal against the nearest wall.

"You can do it, Ginny," Sirius said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and saw the tears in his eyes. He was going to put himself through hell for Harry, for her and for everyone else in the world. He was going to do this for them. He had faith in her. Lily and James had faith in her. Harry always had faith in her and Ginny knew it was time she had faith in herself. She knew she could do it.

She took a deep breath and felt herself grounded to the floor, her feet becoming a part of the castle as the hum of magic flooded through her. Hogwarts was there fore her. She stretched out her senses and felt Sirius' magic, felt the thrum of power and the faith he had in her. Sirius was there for her. Harry was out there and she found him. She sensed him and his love for her. She reached out to everyone and everything she could sense and she took what she needed; from the castle, from Sirius, from everyone. She could do it.

"Well done, Ginny."

Lily's voice startled her and she opened her eyes, blinking to focus them. She wiped the blood from her nose on her sleeve and handed the crystal to Sirius. 

"They forgive you." She indicated Lily and James. "And not just here, Sir," she said, using James' nickname for him. It seemed appropriate and Sirius gave her a smile. "They forgive you in the afterlife as well. For everything. Everything you think you've done wrong and everything you're about to do, everything you might not be able to forgive yourself for."

"But can Harry?"

Ginny nodded and smiled through her tears. "Of course he will, Sirius, he loves you. He knew, Sirius. He figured it out. I saw the look in his eyes when we closed the crystal for the last time. He knew, and he doesn't want to put you through this, but he can't do it. I know he can't, but Sirius he will try. He'll try to make sure that you don't have to."

Sirius nodded and pulled Ginny into his arms, hugging her tightly. "You know, if I was twenty years younger, I'd be giving Harry a run for his money."

Ginny laughed and wiped her eyes as she pulled away. "Twenty years younger would make me a cradle snatcher if I went after you."

Sirius laughed before turning to James and Lily. For a moment, Ginny thought he would hug them, but he didn't make any move towards them. He just smiled and they smiled back.

There was a loud bang and the doors to the Great Hall flew off their hinges. Ginny turned to see the one man she had hoped never to see again in her life. Tom Riddle. He looked a lot different than Ginny remembered, but he was still the same. She could sense his essence. She was still connected to the castle, knowing that she would have to return the power she had borrowed, and that gave her an insight she had never had before. She could see You Know Who for what he was. He was Tom Riddle, the young boy that had seduced her as a child, had used her. He was still in there and, somehow, that made Ginny more afraid than she had been before. She no longer feared Voldemort, she feared Tom. She feared that he would get to her again.

She ran to the back of the room, standing in front of the first years that were huddling in the corner. There was no way they could make it to the passageway and ever if they could, Ginny would not put the lives of those that had already used it in jeopardy by giving away its existence. She turned to face the room, watching as Voldemort approached Sirius, Wormtail scurrying in his wake.

Without thinking, she pulled out her wand and sent a few hexes in Wormtail's direction. The rat had no time to react and soon found himself pinned to the wall unconscious. Whilst she was now satisfied that Sirius would have his pardon, she knew that Voldemort would want to deal with her.

As if to prove her thoughts, she felt her wand being ripped from her hands. She had expected it, but the loss of her wand made her want to tremble. Instead she held her head high. She would not let him see her fear. If she was going to die, she was going to do so with dignity. She had little fear for the first years, they would not come to harm. Harry was coming, she could feel it. And, while he might not be in time to save her, she had no doubt that he would save them.

"Hey, Riddle, you're forgetting about someone."

Sirius' momentary distraction was enough to give Harry that extra moment. He entered the Great Hall, flanked by Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. Ginny could sense that the door that Sirius had entered from was about to open and that Death Eaters were behind it. 

"Behind you!" she yelled and she was glad she had. A second later Lucius Malfoy entered, instantly throwing a curse at Sirius, but he was able to deflect it and send out on of his own. Everything that had come before had simply been the calm before the storm and, without her wand to help her, all Ginny could do was watch. Although the castle was allowing her the ability to sense the spells that were about to be used, she did nothing to warn anyone. All that would do would distract them. Lily and James were by Sirius' side, but they, like Ginny, were helpless. They had no real form and, therefore, no real magic; they too were being forced to be spectators. 

Ginny tore her gaze away from Harry's parents to see Draco and Ron engaged in battle. He caught her eyes momentarily and she saw the helplessness in them. He truly was on their side, but there was nothing he could do while Ron was firing curses at him. She called out to her brother and he turned to her, thinking she was in trouble. Draco had realised what she was doing and had taken the opportunity to run. He was halfway across the room when Voldemort spotted him. 

Draco was heading towards his father with rage in his eyes and Ginny knew what he intended to do. She called out to him, tried to warn him that Voldemort had seen him, but she was too late. His body was engulfed with green light and she turned away, not wanting to watch as he hit the floor. She glanced at Ron and saw that he was shocked beyond belief. Whilst it was possible to think that Draco's intent had been to hex Sirius, she knew that Ron had seen the truth, however hard that had been.

A sudden noise had her attention and she focussed on the centre of the room. Harry had finally reached Voldemort. Upon entering, the Death Eaters had swarmed around him and he had been effectively blocked from his main target, but now he was through, and Ginny watched, with tears streaming down her face, as the battle began.

She wasn't sure how long she watched, how long it took for them to wear down, but she knew when the balance shifted. She called out to Sirius and he nodded. He indicated to Bill, who had entered a few moments prior and purposefully not entered into the battle, and her brother took his place against Lucius Malfoy.  She had had no idea that Bill knew anything of their plan, but he caught her eye for a second and she knew that he had had enough faith in her to believe it would work. 

She felt a tug on the power she was sending out to the crystal and she glanced at Sirius, keeping the channel open. She saw the look in his eyes, knew that he was hesitating. He took a look at Harry and his mind was set. He glanced at Lily and James one last time, before casting the spell.

Ginny felt her own power being drawn into the workings of the magic Sirius was using and allowed him to feed on her energy, as she, in turn, fed from the castle. She forced her eyes to stay open and kept her gaze firmly on Lily, James and Sirius. She could almost feel Sirius' heart breaking as he finished the spell. He had only one act left.

He whispered one final thing that, despite its volume, could be heard within the very fabric of the castle. Sirius threw the stone at Voldemort, as hard as he could; casting the spell to destroy it, moments before Voldemort himself could. In his eyes Ginny could see the pain he felt in knowing that he would have to live the rest of his life with the knowledge that, this time, he had been the one to kill his best friends. 

There was a flash of light that engulfed the room. Nothing could have prepared Ginny for the pain she felt as the power she had fed the crystal was severed from her. She felt fresh tears fall as the words 'I'm sorry, Harry,' echoed through her and James and Lily disappeared. 

Ginny gasped as the castle tried to reclaim what she had taken, only to find that the power was gone. He presence in her mind withdrew and, with it, all the strength she had left. Before she could hit the ground she heard Voldemort speaking. He was laughing at the feeble attempt the crystal had made. She glanced at Harry and, although she knew he wanted to grieve the loss of his parents once more, she knew that he had, as she had suspected, known that it was the only course of action. 

Suddenly Voldemort hissed, "Accio," and she felt herself being pulled towards him. The piercing feeling in her gut was almost enough to make her retch, but she forced herself to remain calm. They had got this far and she knew Harry would save her…

She met his gaze. He was standing barely 6 feet away from her and yet the distance seemed immeasurable. She felt as though she was on that beach again, running towards him only to find that he kept getting further and further away. This was how she had died in the first Harry's life. This had been the point where he had lost her. It had left him hollow and broken, but she couldn't let that happen. Not to her Harry.

She met his eyes. He couldn't save her and she knew it and, what was worse, so did he. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that most of the fighting was over and all eyes were on her and Harry. Her connection with the castle had been severed, but she did not need it to know what words had left Lucius Malfoy's lips as Sirius was engulfed with a green light. She wanted to scream, but remained silent. She saw the small flash as Remus entered through the mirror they had placed in front of the passageway and she watched with a sad smile as he revenged his friend's death.

She was watching her world crumble around her and, despite the tears streaming down her face, she was oddly calm. Even as she saw Voldemort raise his wand, heard him utter the words that would end her life, she smiled and kept her gaze on Harry. Whilst she couldn't say the words, she knew she was conveying all her love in that one look and that was all that mattered. Harry knew that she loved him, he knew that she was also willing to die for him. And die she would.

"_Avada__ Kedavra_!"

~x~x~x~x~x~

**End of Part Seven**

**Note:** Okay, I'm crying. I don't care if you lot aren't, I am! *deep breath* Okay, well, the hard part is over. You know the whole story. The bits from Ginny's nightmares at the start are explained and the rest is filled in. If you come across any inconsistencies, let me know, as I didn't get around to rereading the other parts before I wrote this, and it has been a while!

There is one more part left, and it picks up from where the first part left off. There will be explanations as to what happened to Ginny after the end of this part, so don't worry. 

I've started a Marauder outtake from Part Six, and that will be available…as soon as it's done! There will also be a Ron/Hermione outtake on how they finally got together and an epilogue with Harry and Ginny.


	8. Part 8: Learning To Live Again

**All Good Things**

**Part 8: Learning To Live Again**

By Kyizi 

This part is set just before Ginny's last year and continues from part 1

xxxxx

**Disclaimer: **These wonderful characters do not belong to me, they are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm only playing with them for a while, the only thing that's mine is this story.

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing: **Harry/Ginny (hints of Ron/Hermione)

**Distribution: **Ask and I'll likely say yes, but please do ask.

**Spoilers:** PS, CoS, PoA, GoF

**Feedback: **is a precious gift. It's nice to give ;)

**E-mail:** kyizihotmail.com

**Notes 1: **Okay, people have been asking me about this, begging me to tell them that Ginny isn't really dead. All I have to say is this. Has anyone read chapter one? ;)

**Notes 2:** Okay, so it's been a while, I'm sorry, but Kyizi lost her ability to write for a while there. Am back and I hope this meets those lovely expectations you all have. This is the final chapter in the actual storyline. There will, however, be an epilogue and two outtakes (The Trio's graduation and a Marauder chapter).

Also, Heliona has insisted that it be noticed that she did, in fact, correctly guess the Lord of the Rings reference in chapter six. She just happened to spot around three or four things that could have been the correct one. I apologise and bow down to her wondrous Tolkien-ness roll eyes ;)

_xxxxx_

Ginny woke with a start; her heart pounding as she the last vestiges of her dream taunted her memory. She remembered what it felt like to be hit with the killing curse, the fact that Harry had hit her with a shielding at the same time had made her feel as though she were being crushed between two walls. The shielding had attached itself around her, but there was no known way to stop The Killing Curse. That Harry had been working on a shield for it came as no surprise to her in those last moments, but she had not expected it to work. It hadn't worked. At least, it had not worked in the way that Harry had intended it to. She had still died, the force of the shield and the curse hitting her simultaneously and causing her heart to stop.

She still remembered what it felt like to die. She knew that everyone thought she had forgotten it, or at least forgotten it to the extent that it did not bother her. They were wrong and only Harry knew that. She still remembered it all with a painful clarity. She remembered the noises as her hearing gave way to muffled noises and her eyes dimmed as her heart stopped. It hadn't been as sudden as everyone had thought, or if it had, time had slowed for her. She had watched the look on Harry's face as it blurred to infinity, hoping that he had see in her eyes the love and forgiveness.

She had always known that Harry would blame himself when she died. The fact that he had been there and had been unable to do anything was worse for him and she had known that. Even as her world was ending around her she had still known that her last breath would have to be for him. She hadn't wanted it any other way. Part of her hated that her world was so wrapped up in another person that he was the focus of everything for her, but the rest of her knew that she was lucky. In her short life, she had known more love, a deeper love than some people would ever possibly hope to understand.

She may have been only sixteen years old, but it was real and, in that respect at least, she was older than many people could hope to be because she had experienced something so real, so pure and so deep that there was nothing else more profound for her to find. But in that wondrous feeling there the cruellest torment that time could ever steal from her, it took her away from him before she had the chance to make him feel that, to make him understand what he meant to her. Harry had experienced such a small amount of love in his life and she hated time for stealing the one more chance from him.

Ginny shuddered at the thought. Luckily fate had been on her side that day and, as she had gasped for breath, the feeling of Harry's lips on hers, the feeling of his clasped hands thumping on her chest, she had thanked whatever entity had been responsible for bringing her back to him. CPR. Three little letters that had no meaning in the Wizarding world had saved her life. Harry had saved her life. Again. It was her turn now.

Harry had had to watch as his Godfather had killed his parents again, throwing them before Voldemort and using the arithmancy they had worked into the crystal to remove the strength behind Voldemort's apparent invincibility. She had always known that Lily and James had used the crystal to store the magic that they had hoped would destroy Voldemort, but no one had suspected that that very power they were feeding the stone would be the key. Arithmancy had a power all of its own, just as the workings of a spell did, and the spell that Lily and James had been working on had been ingrained into the crystal they had stored it in. They crystal was the key and Harry's final spell would end it all. Harry's magic held a marker similar to his parents, something that was passed on from parent to child. When he had cast his final spell on Voldemort, he activated the magic his parents had left behind.

Her breath hitched as she thought of Sirius. He was first adult to really treat her as a grown up, he was the first adult, that was not family, that had captured her heart in such a way that he became a part of her, a part of her life. He meant the world to Harry and, in turn, he came to mean the world to her, not just because he was a part of Harry, but because he loved her and treated her like she meant something to him. Ginny would always have a part of her heart locked away just for Sirius.

She stepped out of her bed, knowing that it was futile to attempt getting back to sleep. She was awake and there was nothing she could do that would alter that fact. She often woke from nightmares of the past, remembering Sirius as he laughed with her and smiled at her, and nothing would force him from her mind and allow her to rest.

She dressed quickly, her mind drifting to Harry. He had handled the situation badly. Everyone had thought he had recovered well and were so happy that he seemed to have adjusted. They thought that he had accepted that Sirius did what he had to do and that everything was all right, because, with Wormtail in custody, his Godfather's name had been cleared and he was buried with honour and acceptance by the world at large. Ginny, however, knew differently.

Harry had allowed it to fester inside him. Nothing that she did drew him from his delusion that he was all right, nothing until that night three months later. Is had been Sirius' birthday and she had awoken from a deep sleep, just knowing that he needed her.

Their bond through the crystal had faded, but it had not gone away. She always had him in her mind; she always knew when he was near and what he was feeling. She liked that, she liked having a part of him inside her, a part that was just for her. After the battle, it had seemed like it was the time to let everyone know that they were involved, but Harry was scared and she never pushed. He was scared that, somehow, she would still be at risk and she had not wanted to force too many things at once. Not when she had to force something more from him. She had to break him.

Harry had built a shell around his heart, letting no one in, to an extent, not even her. She had tried her hardest and eventually, on that night when she had found him in the astronomy tower, trying to force Hedwig to deliver his birthday note to his Godfather, she had lashed out. She had screamed and cried, she had yelled at him that he wasn't the only one that was hurting, had yelled that he was making Sirius' sacrifice mean nothing if he refused to live, and then she had laid the final thing before him, she had yelled that he had known what was going to happen and that he did nothing to stop it. She had spoken the words that he had been thinking since the moment he had turned from her body, the body he had just brought back to life, to see Sirius lying dead on the floor behind him. He blamed himself.

He had broken before her. He had screamed in rage, forcing all his anger at her. He blamed himself for Sirius' death, because he had not had the strength to destroy the crystal himself, he had not had the strength to let his parents die at his hand and had, instead, forced Sirius to do it for him. He may not have cast the curse that ended Sirius' life, but he blamed himself as if he had.

When he had run out of anger and all that had been left was the grief as he fell to the ground on his knees, she had gathered him up into her arms and held onto him for all she was worth. They had both grieved that night, grieved for the loss of his parents and for Sirius and for all the innocence that they would never regain. They had come out scarred, but whole once more. They had broken apart, but rebuilt each other and all that was left was the love they shared but were too scared to admit to everyone else.

"Until now." Ginny looked at herself in the mirror, replacing the brush onto her worn down dresser and smiled shakily. "Today, Harry Potter, I am going to let the world know how much I love you."

She smiled and turned away from her reflection. She had seen enough in her life, however short it may have been, to know that love was precious and, all too often, fleeting. She would no longer make the mistake of hiding hers.

xxxxx

She cleared her throat, for what seemed like the tenth time in the last hour, and continued to turn her food over on her plate. She couldn't eat and she was fed up of trying to ignore the little voice in her head that seemed to be yelling, _'coward!'_ and laughing at her. Telling the world seemed like such a good idea in theory, but admitting it to her family was proving to be rather more difficult than she had thought.

She glanced up at Harry. He looked ill. His face seemed to be greener than it ever had been before and he, too, had not touched his breakfast. What was more was the fact that he looked like a rabbit caught in a trap. He kept glancing sidelong at her brothers and, whenever her parents asked if he was all right, he looked as though he was about to keel over.

She couldn't help it, she'd had enough. She burst out laughing. He glared at her and she laughed harder, until finally a smirk made its way onto his face and soon he was laughing along with her. It took them a few minutes to calm down. She glanced at him and he nodded.

Harry cleared his throat. "Er…well…" he trailed off and Ron snorted.

"Good start, mate."

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend and cleared his throat again. "Ginny and I have something to tell you."

"You're buying an ant farm in the Himalayas?" George asked with a grin.

"She's leaving you for Hagrid?" Fred asked, astonished.

Ron laughed. "You're running off to the Serengeti with your pet monkey, Chico?"

Ginny groaned as realisation hit. Harry just looked confused. She stifled a giggle as she turned to her father and he winked at her. Harry didn't have a clue.

"So, Harry," her father began, "what is it you wanted to say?" He sounded so serious and overbearing that she had to hide her mouth with her napkin. Ginny glanced at her mother only to see the laughter in her eyes.

"Well, Sir, I…" Harry trailed off. "That is, I mean… well… GinnyandIareinlovenadwewantedtosaythatwe'resorrywedidn'ttellyouandcanwehaveyourblessing?"

There was a moment's silence before everyone started to laugh. Harry looked shocked, but, when he saw that she was laughing along, he dropped his fork and sat back in his chair with a resigned smile on his face. After the laughter died down, her mother reached out to place one hand over his and the other over hers.

"Of course you have our blessing, Harry. You're already one of the family."

"Thank you."

Ron chuckled and they turned to face him. "Oh, you should've seen your face, mate. Hermione's going to be so upset that she missed this."

"Don't worry," George said.

"We got it all recorded right here." Fred tapped his wand and winked at them. Harry groaned and dropped his head to the table, only narrowly missing his full plate.

"I don't know about you," he said to Ginny as he sat back up, ignoring his blush and the tittering of laughter around him. "But I'm famished."

She laughed and picked up her fork, suddenly finding that she was starving.

"Just out of curiosity," she said, swallowing a mouthful of sausage. "How long have you all known?"

Fred laughed. "Oh, ages."

"Yeah," Ron said with a grin. "Hermione figured it out not long after Harry and I had a little chat."

Harry blushed. "Yeah, about that-"

"'s all right." Ron interrupted, waving his fork. "I was angry, but happy for you. Hermione had to stop me from punching you, though."

"I'll remember to thank her."

"So what gave us away?" Ginny asked, unable to curb her curiosity.

Ron snorted. "What didn't?"

"Yeah," George said with a laugh, "and that argument you two had when you made her think you'd forgot Valentine's Day?" He whistled and shook his head. "You're a brave man, Harry Potter."

"Yeah." Fred winked. "I never thought I'd see the day when someone would purposefully incur Ginny's wrath."

"It was kinda sad, mate," Ron said with mock sincerity. "You guys are always gazing into each other's eyes, sighing when you think no one's looking, smiling secretly, disappearing at the same time." His eyes darkened. "I almost set after you with a few curses the first time I realised what you were up to."

"Ron!" Ginny felt her cheeks redden as she tried not to look at her parents.

"What stopped you?" Fred asked with a laugh and Ron blushed. "Ah. Hermione."

"Shut up."

"Well, before I hear any more details that I ever wanted to about my children," Ginny's father said, standing up. "I think I'll retire to my shed."

"And I best get started with the dishes."

Ginny smiled as her mother stood up, clearing some of the plates. She glanced around at her family, smiling as the twins continued to tease Ron about his girlfriend. She looked across the table at Harry and smiled when she realised he had been staring at her. He grinned back.

"I love you," he mouthed and Ginny's heart stopped for a moment. He had said it. Not in some romantic setting, not in the middle of a heartfelt speech but there, where it meant the most; surrounded by her family, in her home.

"I love you, too," she mouthed. She didn't think she had ever seen his eyes as alive as they looked at that precise moment. He looked alive, he looked happy, and he loved her.

"Hey," Ron said, suddenly sitting up straight. "They told us at home! Neville won the pool!"

xxxxx

The air was chill and Ginny wrapped her light jacket tighter around her, rubbing at her arms for warmth. The arm Harry had around her shoulder squeezed her gently and she turned to smile at him before leaning against him.

They had been walking for about five minutes, Harry clutching his broomstick in his free hand, and Ginny felt more at peace than she had for a long time. Their relationship was out in the open and Harry was by her side. She wasn't quite sure how she would be able to let it all go when she went back to Hogwarts the following week.

There was only one thing left to nag at her heart. It had been too long since her whole family had been together. Her parents, she knew, were keeping on a brave face for them all, but Ginny knew they were worried, very worried, especially about Bill. Her eldest brother had last been seen, by members of her family, on the night after the battle. He was returning to Egypt, where an uprising of Death Eaters were terrorising the local people. What he had failed to tell everyone until that night was that he was worried for someone, someone special. Bill had been hiding his relationship with a young Egyptian woman called Cari in an attempt to keep her safe from the war. The Weasleys were notorious for their standpoint against Voldemort and Bill had not wanted to endanger Cari.

Bill had continued to keep in touch weekly, until one week there was no letter. One week had turned into two and two into three. By the time the first month had been over, her parents had been terrified that something was wrong. After another painful week of worrying, Cari had written to them. She had not seen him for over a month and she was also worried. Bill and a group of his friends had been after the last known group of Death Eaters in Egypt. No one had returned and no one had known what had happened. There was nothing left to do but wait.

What Ginny had failed to mention throughout it all was that she was more worried for Charlie. Her other brother had not passed through the war unscathed. His left arm was all but useless by his side, burnt through with an unrecognisable combination of curses, and he had a slight limp that he was unable, or unwilling, to disclose the cause of. He had been missing for around the same amount of time as Bill had, but, whilst it was assumed he was on one of his dragon hunts, Ginny was not so sure. For some reason she felt sure that her brothers were together and, for some reason, she felt sure that one of them would not be returning. It was something that she just felt in her blood.

"Penny for them."

She smiled and turned to face her boyfriend, hoping that he missed the sadness in her eyes. "I'm okay."

"No, your not," Harry said, the arm that was wrapped around her reaching to wipe her tears. "You're thinking about your brothers, aren't you?"

She nodded and he leaned forward to kiss her on the tip of her nose. "Thank you."

"For what?"

She smiled. "For not telling me that they'll be fine." Harry frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head. "Please, Harry. Don't. Don't promise me they'll be okay. It's the first time you haven't and I need you to stick to it. Someone isn't coming home. I know it."

Harry stopped walking and turned to face her. She smiled sadly and he sighed. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Harry."

He leaned in and kissed her, softly at first and then with increasing passion. It was as if he were trying to put everything he felt into the kiss, as if he wanted to make all her pain go away and, for a moment, at least, it worked.

"Ahem."

They jumped apart like naughty school children. Ginny started to laugh and ran towards the man, throwing her arms around him. "Remus," she said happily. "It's so good to see you."

The elder man chuckled and returned her hug. "Likewise, Ginny, likewise." They pulled apart and Ginny stepped back, allowing Harry to greet the last of the Marauders. It felt so final, so melodramatic to think of Remus like that, but it was true. He was the last of his friends, the only one left and, perhaps, the most tortured soul of them all, werewolf aside. He was the one that had to live.

"I thought I might bump into you two up here."

Ginny smiled and took Harry's hand as he stepped back beside her. "We wanted to come earlier, but Mum was being a pain."

Remus laughed. "I'm sure she just doesn't like the thought of the two of you sneaking off together. I doubt she's anxious for her youngest to give her a grandchild yet."

"We…I mean, we haven't-" Harry stopped talking. His face was bright red and Ginny knew hers was the same. "Does everybody know about us?"

"You weren't exactly subtle, Harry."

Ginny laughed as Harry groaned. Personally, she found the whole thing amusing. Harry turned to glare at her and she flicked her wrist, causing his broomstick to fly out of his grasp and into the air above them.

"Say sorry and you'll get it back."

"Where did you learn wandless magic?" Remus asked, his eyes wide.

She smiled and shrugged. "I just did it one day, and kept on doing it. But don't tell my mum."

"I won't, Ginny, but you should. It's a very powerful witch that does not require the use of a wand."

She sighed but nodded her head. It had been another of her secrets destined to be discovered. The first one had gone well; she wasn't so sure this one would. It was dangerous to do wandless magic, many witches and wizards had burnt out doing it.

"Ginny, promise me."

"I promise." Ginny glared at him. "When did you turn into an adult, Moony?"

The elder man laughed and shook his head at her. "Padfoot was right, she taught you well, did our Lily."

Harry snorted. "She was rather scary before she met my mum."

Ginny beamed at him. "Thank you."

They stood in silence for a few moments, turning to the gravestones. They had managed to secure Sirius' place next to Harry's parents and Ginny was glad. It was hard enough to visit their graves now that she knew had known them, but to have to visit more than one place to remember people whose lives were so intertwined would be double the grief.

"All good things must come to an end, Mr. Potter, but that does not mean that what follows cannot be better."

"What?" Ginny frowned and turned to Harry, noting that Remus had the same confused look in his eyes.

"Dumbledore. When we went to the kitchens that day we bumped into Dumbledore."

"I remember," Remus said, nodding.

"I think he knew. I think he knew that he was going to die that night; I think he knew that a lot of people I loved were going to die that night. That's what he said to me, '_all good things must come to an end, Mr. Potter, but that does not mean that what follows cannot be better'._"

"He was a wise man." Remus smiled. "But personally, I always preferred Sirius' outlook. When they frowned, he smiled and replied, "All good things come to those who wait."

"I think I like them both," Ginny said. "They're both so full of hope that there's something to look forward to." She smiled at Harry and he slowly began to smile back.

"So, Harry, what are you planning on doing with yourself this year?" Remus asked. He shook his head and interrupted Harry before he could reply. "And don't try to give me this man of leisure rubbish." Harry laughed and he looked at the boy curiously. "Did you ever think about playing professional Quidditch?"

"Actually…" Harry smiled and glanced at Ginny. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you a little early."

"You're going to play Quidditch?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Not quite." He looked at her for a moment. "How would you feel about having me at Hogwarts for another year?"

"I'd love it…but how?"

"I'm going to be taking over from Madam Hooch."

Ginny looked at him wide eyed for a moment before squealing and throwing her arms around him. Her life wasn't perfect, she knew that, but she was happy. He was coming back to Hogwarts with her and she had so many hopes for the future.

She pulled back and smiled at Harry as he and Remus began talking. Turning to look behind them, her eyes widened as she saw the Harry from her dream. He was holding Jamie in one arm and Ash was clutching onto his other hand. Jamie waved at her and Harry whispered that he loved her.

Ashling, however, tilted her head to the side and smiled. "I'll see you soon, Mummy."

And they disappeared.

"You all right, Gin?"

She turned to Harry and nodded. "I think I will be. I think we all will be." She took his hand again and glanced at the space where her family had stood. She no longer felt the need to wish that they existed, because she knew they would. Soon. Her life so far had been good, but she knew that that was all over. But, as a very wise man had once said, what was to follow could be even better.

xxxxx

**End of Part Eight**

Well, it took a while, but I hope that you enjoyed. I hope to have the epilogue done soon. Having written this chapter, am also thinking that, on top of the R/H outtake and the Marauder outtake, I might do a Bill/Charlie outtake. Let me know what you think, but wait until after the epilogue, it will answer some of the questions.


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